A few reviews . . (film or TV) — Page 130

Drunken Master II - 1994 - 7/10
AKA - Jui Kuen II // 醉拳二

Returning to Canton, Wong Fei-hung gets in a scuffle with a government toady.
During the skirmish, boxes are mixed-up leading to all sorts of complications.
One of the major themes is of artifacts and treasures being smuggled back to England.
Fights see-saw back and forth, and Wong Fei-hung’s specialty is drunken boxing.
This is simply one of the greatest action films of all time!
Fight choreography is jaw-dropping. Jackie Chan is in spectacular form.
One of the very best martial arts movies.

A Star Is Born - 1937 - 6/10

Yet another young hopeful arrives in Hollywood, yet before he dreams are dashed, she catches the eye of an alcoholic has-been.
At its core, this is melodrama, the doomed love story, steeped in veiled tales of the bygone generation.
Janet Gaynor believable as the star-struck ingenue.
Frederic March, who I usually dislike as ham prone, her is excellent as the lush.
The outstanding drawn of this, to be honest, creaker, is watching a restored Technicolor print.
Yes, 1937 and in Technicolor. It is absolutely beautiful.

A Star Is Born - 1976 - 6/10

Up and coming singer songwriter falls in love with the out-of-step, no-longer-hot, rock star.
Sound familiar. Yeah, yeah. Overcooked remake, this time shifting into the Rock / Pop sphere.
Streisand fanatics will shout this is marvelous – It’s OK.
Detractors will spit that it’s garbage – It’s alright.
Again, melodrama. Doomed love story and way, way, way too overlong.
Kristofferson is fine, Streisand is fine, the songs are good, memorable.
Their chemistry, however, runs hot and cold, and once Kris is gone, the film goes flat.
Midway, I was checking the time, never a good sign.

The Most Dangerous Game - 1932 - 6/10

Despite a few liberties with the source (Richard Connell’s story), this remains one of the finest adaptations.
Enroute to a big game junket, sportsman Railsford washes up ashore on a deserted island.
Cossack nobleman Zaroff lives there with huge manservant Ivan and a pack of hounds.
Along with temporary visitors who arrive there from time to time.
Soon, Railsford realizes that, while Zaroff is likewise a hunter, he prefers highly intelligent quarry.
Remade dozens of times, this benefits using sets from King Kong, and Leslie Banks’ fierce performance.

Empty Dream - 1965 - 6/10
AKA - Chunmong // 춘몽

The dentist’s office is hot, humid. His drill is belt drive. Anesthesia – inadequate.
The attractive female patient passes out first, followed by the male.
Who then has truly weird fantasies.

Based on an early Japanese Pinku, this has no nudity, but is wild with sets and camerawork.
Sets range from Expressionistic to theatre minimalism.
In the male patient’s dreamscape, the dentist is an aristocrat with top hat and cane.
He also sadistically tortures the female while the male patient watches helplessly.
Bizarre throughout, and the dental scenes are horrifying, especially if you grew up (as I did) with a dentist who still used belt driven equipment. Slow grinding drills. Terrible memories.

Girls Can’t Surf - 2020 - 6/10

Documentary charts the rise of women’s professional surfing from the 1980’s onward.
Several females profiled, interviewed, along with some footage.
For a surf documentary, however, this is light on “surf porn”.
Instead, finding sponsors, fighting to get acceptance, the quest for pay,
Financial disparity between the sexes is referenced often.
Reading between the lines, for a multi-billion dollar sport, sponsors seem to reap the benefits.
Paychecks shown simply are not that great.
One year, for example, the champion’s trophy came with zero prize money.
Pioneers blazed the path, watched wistfully as the third generation reaped financial windfalls.

Lisbon - 1956 - 6/10

Skipper John Evans is hired by Aristides Mavros.
Evans is a smuggler, Mavros is a cultured Greek criminal, highly connected.
Third part of the triangle is Sylvia Merrill, wife of a kidnapped millionaire.
She desperately wants her husband returned, though she stands to be wealthy if he dies.
Low-key adventure, bolstered with witty dialogue and beautiful Lisbon scenery.
Filmed in Trucolor, using Naturama lenses, this Republic movie (one of their last) still looks great.
Claude Rains perfect as the dapper mastermind.
Directed and produced by Ray Milland, who also plays the skipper, desired by two females.
I found that difficult to accept, but the scenery, Noir twists, and Nelson Riddle score made this enjoyable.

Jalouse - 2017 - 6/10

Teacher Nathalie grows more toxic each passing day.
Her daughter, a slim ballet student, she envies, along with her own students.
Those possessing their youth and a future.
Her ex-husband has found a new partner.
Even toward her best friend, she makes snide comments.
The title and synopsis indicate jealously, yet it runs deeper. Perhaps a mental illness.
An actual cause or explanation proves elusive, and the film frustrates.

Sleeping With The Enemy - 1991 - 6/10

Laura and Martin are the unhappily married couple.
Why? Because he is a domineering control freak. Possessive, jealous,
So how come she never saw that coming? Most know the seeds are always there.
Did he have a head accident? No. Is she half-blind and dimwitted? Hmm.
Terror / thriller vehicle goes full throttle into Melodrama, with looney plot twists.
A hit with audiences (go figure), and boosted sales for Berlioz.
I kid you not. During its run, I worked at a record store where every week assertive females came in, dragging their subdued or bashful boyfriends, and requested Berlioz.
Symphonie Fantastique, in case you were wondering.

Mystery Of The Wax Museum - 1933 - 6/10

So, you know and I know the mystery of how those wax figures are so lifelike.
Prime source material.
Pre-Code gem is packed with naughties. From drug use to explicit innuendo,
Fay Wray doing floor exercises, leg splits and cycling. When her boyfriend calls, “Oh, I was just thinking about you.”
Best friend, Florence (tough talking Glenda Farrell) has bristling dialogue.
Early, and last, two-color Technicolor is the print to see, particularly the 2020 restoration.

The Grave - 2019 - 6/10
AKA - Graven

After an earthquake, three graves are revealed in an Israeli wildlife refuge.
Police arrive. Medical exam provides the DNA. DNA identical to three living individuals.
Investigations around three “survivors” yield more puzzles than solutions.
Promising SciFi is underwritten, and suffers a rushed conclusion.
Dual police work is the most entertaining aspect.
Concepts of slipstream and parallel universes poorly elaborated.
Alright attempt, should have been better.

Black Widow - 1987 - 6/10

A Federal agent pursues a secretive husband killer.
Both “sense” each other as adversaries, yet seem to form an uneasy bond nevertheless.
While they may not genuinely like each other, they share a rapport, and an element of respect.
Efficient thriller benefits from keen performances by Debra Winger and Theresa Russell.
Well shot, composed, good time killer.

Jon Richardson: Old Man Live - 2018 - 6/10

Player on the standup circuit and popular guest on telly quiz shows.
Richardson shares his new marital experiences, his thoughts on encounters, personal phobias, likes, dislikes, aiming for what most can relate to.
He overshares his adventures navigating the perineum. Perhaps I’m squeamish.
Still, he seems to go over well with a lubricated Blackpool audience.
From the couch, he went over fair.

Any Number Can Win - 1963 - 6/10
AKA - Mélodie en Sous-sol

Charles returns home from five years in the slammer, his second stint now.
His wife wants him to settle down, move to the southern coast.
Only no, he’s had five years to work out the big heist – the last score!
Charles has the smarts, but he’s old and needs a young partner.
One who turns out to be a little too full of himself.
Outstanding caper film, methodical, assured, expertly shot.
The pairing of Jean Gabin and Alain Delon is classic.

The Bullet Vanishes - 2012 - 6/10
AKA - Xiao shi de zi dan // 消失的子弹

Recently transferred investigative detective aligns with a local cop and his partner.
A series of odd deaths plagues a munitions factory, and workers say it is a curse.
Their methods mix cerebral and gunplay, each man respecting the others abilities.
Mystery angles and deductions will please classic fans.
1900 era Shanghai street scenes are heavily populated and bustling.
Nicholas Tse and Ching Wan Lau have an understated rapport.

The Night Has Eyes - 1942 - 6/10

Doris and Marian head for a refreshing holiday on the moors.
After all, that was where their friend, and fellow teacher, Evelyn, disappeared!
Reaching their destination, they encounter howling gales and treacherous bogs.
Luckily, they find shelter at a gloomy house owned by a brooding gentleman.
All the elements for an excellent rainy night film.
The look is Noir and high Gothic. There are mysteries and murders.
Above, the protective housekeeper, troubled male, imperiled heroine.

The Circle - 2023 - 6/10

After thirty years away, Lady Catherine returns to the family she abandoned for a lover.
She was ostracized, her lover, whom most predicted to be the next Prime Minister, saw his career ruined.
Lady Catherine returns to see her son, her ex-husband, and her daughter-in-law, dallying with a tennis player.
On surface, a morality play, this is funny and the plot twists and coils endlessly.
While you can predict how scenes will transpire, they follow their own logic.
Seldom performed Somerset Maugham play benefits from excellent cast and clockwork pacing.
Drawback: the miking is poor. Even at deafening volume, some actors are inaudible.

Earth Vs. The Spider - 1958 - 4/10

Wrong, Barney. A more accurate title would read, Teenagers vs Big Spider.
Annoying teenagers, at that. One longs for the arachnid to feast on twist-crazed, unhappy meals.
Anyhoo, our house sized predator chills in this ole spider cave.
Locals don’t seem to notice until, well, I guess it ran outta varmints, and now chomps on long pork.
Lessons for viewers include – DDT good, rock and roll bad.
Probably an excellent drive-in flick back when. So boring, you will find other activities to engage in.

The Adventures Of Don Juan - 1948 - 6/10

The Spanish queen, besieged by schemers and disloyal courtiers, relies on Spain’s greatest swordsman.
And renowned lady-killer.
Splashy costume action would have been ideal a decade earlier.
Post World War II, it seems old-fashioned.
Flynn, perfectly cast, resembles more of a roué than a gallant knight.
This looks spectacular, especially the restored print. Costumes, sets, Technicolor.
Rousing Max Steiner score is one of his finest.
I adore this film, although I realize it was quaint when it came out.

Hudson Hawk - 1991 - 5/10

I only knew a handful of people who enjoy this, aside from Bruce Willis.
A singing burglar is hired (coerced) into thieving da Vinci secret weapon plans.
The singing may have put audiences off.
Of the notion that this is a comedy, a rather surreal comedy harking back to James Coburn’s Flint movies.
Willis is at once in on the joke, yet earnest throughout.
My wife, who likes slapstick, loathed this film to the point it gave her a headache.
I dislike slapstick, yet enjoyed it when it came out, and still enjoy it.
Nevertheless, if you take a gamble on this, have a backup film ready.

She - 1965 - 6/10

Color remake of the Rider Haggard novel.
Archeologists hear of a lost Egyptian city and set forth.
Once there, they discover it is not quite a dead civilization after all.
Hammer film, bypassing their usual horror tropes, this is adventure territory.
Ursula Andress is fetching as the ageless Ayesha, “She who must be obeyed.”
Nonetheless, either Ursula cannot act or Ayesha’s social skills lapsed over the centuries.
Stiffer than baked cardboard. As is romantic hunk, John Richardson.

Demolition Man - 1993 - 6/10

Psycho killer Phoenix is sentenced to cryo-prison for killing, thieving, and being a public menace.
Hard nosed copper Spartan is sentenced to cryo-prison for excessive force.
Who’ve thunk both would be revived at the same time?
Into a peaceful future with no crime, no sex, and no toilet paper.
Near-future sets work half the time, other times this seems kinda cheap.
Foolish, action overload entertainment.
Wesley Snipes is a real hoot as the scene chewing killer.
Early support role for Sandra Bullock who would soon break big.

The Monolith Monsters - 1957 - 6/10

Meteorite fragments smash into the desert – then the pieces start to grow!
Doom disaster of towering rocks? Toppling into chunks, then growing again.
Half intelligent SciFi replaces alien malevolence with something closer to a plague.
Luckily, the small town has a scientist who attempts to stop the rocks.
Add a thoughtful, no-nonsense sheriff, and desert temps that don’t appear to be 120°.
Once a mainstay of late nite Chiller theater, this is still better than any teen monster flick.

Search For Beauty - 1934 - 6/10

Pre-Code satire of the fitness craze of the 1930’s.
I suppose every generation goes through healthy diets and exercising before succumbing to second portions and lethargy.
A viral Buster Crabbe plays an Olympic swimmer (Crabbe medaled twice), Ida Lupino an Olympic high diver.
Swindlers convince them to promote their “fitness” magazine, which is little more than cheesecake and beefcake.
Along with very lurid stories and testimonials.
Beauty may be valued, but sex sells.
Naughty film, laced with innuendo, scanty clothes, male & female objectification.

The Great Escape - 1963 - 7/10

The plan was innovative – and true!
A mass breakout of hundreds of Allied POWs from an escape-proof German camp.
Who scatter in endless directions like a disturbed ant mound, forcing the Germans to waste time and resources chasing them across the Reich.
Very long build up, overlong perhaps, relying too much on shenanigans and comic touches.
That said, there are numerous characters and this works to help ID them alter on.
Because once the plan unfolds, this movie rolls!
Powerhouse cast, memorable score, solid action and stunts.
Classic film, if a little dodgy, history wise.