Midnight Express - 1978 - 6/10
Naive American turista attempts to smuggle hash out of Turkey.
Caught, arrested, tried, convicted, sent to Sağmalcılar Prison.
That’s early.
Film shifts to the prison from Hell. Nonstop brutality amid inhumane conditions.
Harrowing film is one for masochists; I recall this being wildly popular despite being unrelentingly grim.
I also dimly recall viewing our sympathetic hero as a fool.
Rewatch confirms my previous take.
Kinky Boots - 2005 - 6/10
Price & Sons footwear, in business for generations, is going bankrupt.
Times have changed and customers are buying cheaper, foreign shoes.
Except there is a possible niche.
Shoes, boots, for drag queens. Shoes that have to be fashionable, yet sturdy.
Quite sturdy. Wearers are big boned, tall, and performing takes a toll.
A mix of belly laughs and serious introspection (which tend to halt momentum).
Chiwetel Ejiofor unforgettable as the indomitable Lola.
Drácula - 1931- 6/10
Virtual shot-for-shot remake of the Lugosi classic. Same sets, same cameras.
The Mexican version is less static, is sexier, is, in many ways, flashier.
Pretty clear, the Mexican team, working the late shift, either saw US rushes, or caught some of the shooting.
Either way, scene after scene boasts notable improvements.
Carlos Villarías, however, is no match for the charismatic Lugosi.
Despite my (slight) reservations, this remains must-see for Horror fans.
Mexican Vampire Cinema: A Brief History - 2014 - 6/10
OK, so this neglects the 1931 Drácula, and starts in the 1950‘s.
A lot of films, players and background are included in roughly an hour.
Presented by David Witt, who is an authority here.
The look for most of these is Expressionistic / Gothic, the acting vigorous.
While the second half focuses heavily on Santo, there are several gems.
Such as, did you know international cuts featured nudity?
Another variation on this series is Mummies In Mexican Cinema.
Just what I need, more questionable viewing.
The Old Dark House - 1932 - 6/10
No matter how atrocious the weather, one never goes knocking at the gloomy manor.
Still, there is the timeworn excuse: I didn’t know! Nobody told me!
Plus – the rain truly is dreadful, and the car is leaking.
Do they recognize the door opening butler as Boris Karloff?
The travelers arrive, dry themselves, try to ignore how fearfully eccentric the inhabitants are.
For a creaky, locked-room film, this moves quickly and many images are downright eerie.
This England - 2022 - 6/10
Done with the Covid pandemic already? Well, it’s not done with you.
Newly elected PM Boris Johnson and cabinet have plans, big plans, for overhauling the nation.
Only thing, there is new mysterious disease erupting in China … then Italy
While the government dithers, the disease arrives in the UK, and spreads exponentially.
Scene after scene of an individual coughing, leading inexorably to the last gasp.
Kenneth Branagh is uncanny as Johnson.
Too much time, however, is wasted with his ditzy girlfriend / wife.
More, excruciatingly so, is given to that damned dog of theirs.
Those who relish suffering hospital dramas will be in heaven.
Others may find this a puzzling misfire.
Deep Throat - 1972 - 5/10
Linda, sexually frustrated, seeks a medical diagnosis.
After an examination, the doctor informs her that her clitoris is not where it should be.
Reference the title.
Enlightened, Linda pounds the libido accelerator and starts making up for lost time.
Funny, sleazy, and kinda depressing in a way, this film made Lovelace a cause célèbre for a spell.
Inconceivable in today’s society, this was a wildly popular “date film” in the 1970’s.
Indeed, it was generally paired with The Devil In Miss Jones as a double feature.
I first viewed in Hollywood’s Pussycat Theater with the hippie chick (her choice).
Featherweight biopic Lovelace came out in 2013.
A Warning To The Curious - 1972 - 6/10
There were three buried crowns that guarded the realm in times of war.
Two were lost. The third has been safeguarded, for generations, by a highly protective family.
Until the archeologists started digging. Amateurs, at that.
Mr. Paxton has sniffed out a trail, leading to Seaburgh.
Along the way, warnings and close looks are given, which he ignores.
The fever of the hunt possesses him.
Unsettling M R James adaptation, shot mostly in broad daylight.
Possibly too slow for the impatient, yet the lethargic pace adds to the tension.
Spring Night, Summer Night - 1967 - 7/10
Eldest son Carl is unsuited for farm work. Coal mines are closed, but he would have not fit in there, either.
Then there is Jessica, his sister (half-sister, actually), equally unhappy with her lot as surrogate mother to the children.
Stifled, bored, attracted, what happens seems foregone.
Especially in that rural, pocket-community which is already riddled with adultery and drinking.
Five months, the swelling aftermath, guilt and resignation.
Bear in mind, 1967 was the Summer Of Love, Vietnam raged, Civil Rights activists marched.
Meantime, this region harks back to 1930’s Depression America.
This is an authentic time capsule of a region people choose to forget.
English subs = https://subscene.com/subtitles/spring-night-summer-night/english/3303358
The Witches Attack - 1968 - 5/10
AKA - Atacan Las Brujas
The sexy leader of the witch guild accepts a ride from a masked wrestler in his Porsche.
To enslave all mortals, the witches need to sacrifice an innocent and a hero.
Music is brooding and thrilling, sets are high Gothic, passageways and chambers.
The women are unbelievably attractive, clad in short togas.
Fights are repetitive and overlong, and a few sequences appear to be reruns.
For me, it is always incongruous that people would consult a detective in his office, behind his desk, wearing a suit and tie, and a mask.
Then again, this is an early Santo flick.
Love Honour And Obey - 2000 - 7/10
Jonny, disgruntled courier, has ambitions. Also a mate with underworld connections.
Jude, nephew to powerful crime boss Ray.
A quick word, Jonny is in, whereupon he soon … what’s the phrase … starts going postal.
Encroaches on rival territory, tries to initiate a full scale mob war.
Absolutely one of the funniest gangster movies ever!
Stellar cast, everyone having a romp, packed with catchy songs.
♪ No one gets to live too long. Where the soul of a man is easy to buy.
♪ Everybody’s wheeling, everybody’s stealing. All the low are living high.
♪ On the avenues and alleyways. ♫
The Furies From Borås - 2017 - 6/10
PG adaptation of Anders Fager’s brutal, sexually charged story.
Here, the blood, the semen, the alcohol, and other lubricants are minimized.
Nevertheless, a male sacrifice is sought out for the rites, and the “meat” is culled.
His chances? One drug addled male and a fistful of sturdy, ravenous girls.
High school production shows budget limitations, and the graphic carnality is only hinted at.
The tone is correct and the furies seem accurate, rather than Hollywood kewpies.
Grenfell: In The Words Of Survivors - 2023 - 7/10
“Most of our words come from interviews, and sometimes they’ll come from the public inquiry, and, occasionally,
we’ll speak as ourselves.”
Raw theatre, piecing together memories of residents, complaints about the gradual deterioration of the estate.
Along with testimonies from parties responsible for maintenance and upkeep – who shirked.
Mitigating factors barely alluded to. Cool Britannia was over and Britain’s budget woes were massive.
Also, the Grenfell Tower was in Chelsea Kensington, and was an extraordinarily valuable piece of real estate.
Diminished safety standards, a laissez faire attitude toward repairs, ill regard for the dwellers.
Gripping throughout. Bear in mind, this is theatre – not a documentary
The anguish of survivors, along with the grief likely carried to their graves.
English subtitles = https://www.mediafire.com/file/rf4me8d3e7n3rqp/Grenfell_In_Words_Survivors-2023.srt/file
Singapore Sue - 1931 - 5/10
Sailors enter the bar / cafe in the middle of the dance revue.
The showoff immediately hits on the girl selling dolls and souvenirs.
No matter how attractive, she ignores the pompous boor, no matter that he is Cary Grant.
Early Grant role, and his manner and delivery are straight out of music hall
Musical short, three songs.
Kiss Me Goodbye - 1982 - 6/10
Mild-mannered remake of Jorge Amado’s “Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands” (a very saucy novel).
Kay’s troublesome husband, Jolly, is dead, except he won’t stay dead.
Even while she prepares to remarry, Jolly keeps haunting her.
So much so, she is constantly confusing the two husbands, responding wrongly to questions.
Watching, this is often funny, especially if you view in a library or revival theater with an audience.
The spark is diminished at home, and this comes across as a bland sitcom.
James Caan steals the film, while Sally Field and Jeff Bridges lack chemistry.
Murders In Pont-Aven - 2022 - 6/10
AKA - Meurtres à Pont-Aven
The first death was a convicted art forger, dating the gallery owner.
Right after the exhibition of Émile Blot, featuring newly discovered paintings.
The local gendarme will be assisted, as always, by an outsider.
Who, it turns out, had investigated the death of the gendarme’s mother years earlier.
French mystery has art references, an intriguing backstory, side stories, and NO romance,
Better than the cutesy “will they, won’t they” biscuits.
Octopussy - 1983 - 6/10
The traveling circus, a Soviet art thief, Fabergé, the cult of the octopus, and Bond.
This 007 outing tones down much of the silliness and camp associated with Moore’s version.
Still as light-hearted outing, this is sleek and very good James bond vehicle.
Louis Jourdan makes an elegant and formidable villain.
Maud Adams, cool and reserved as leader of a smuggling ring.
Comic relief moments, however, should be removed in any director’s cut or fanedited version.
With Bond, comedy belongs in dialogue and black humor situations.
Trapped - 2015 - 7/10
AKA - Ófærð
A body is fished out of the harbor. Actually a torso.
The body had been chopped up, while the cruise ship anchored nearby.
A vessel apparently engaged in human trafficking.
As for the harbor? Chinese investors want to transform it into a mega port.
If enough locals are willing to sell their land, to their elected officials in charge.
Icelandic series follows numerous threads on a small island community.
Blizzard conditions mean the tiny police force is on their own.
Inspired plotting in this modern Noir.
El Vampiro - 1957 - 6/10
Marta arrives at the hacienda of her aunts and uncle.
It is near ruins, dust, cobwebs, seeping fog.
Most villagers and servants have fled following a series of inexplicable deaths.
Only the newcomer, the caped count chooses to remain. Indeed, he want to buy the property.
Outstanding Mexican horror boasts great photography, great sets, a fine score.
Restrained direction helps, too.
Those who pine for the Golden Age of Universal horror, this is a wonderful homage.
The Vampire’s Coffin - 1958 - 5/10
AKA - El Ataud del Vampiro
Why, why, why would anyone exhume the coffin of a slain vampire?
I suppose if you are a doctor, wanting to experiment on something new.
Just don’t go removing that wooden stake in his … oops … too late.
For a long time, I was utterly engaged in this followup.
The photography is superb, in many ways breathtaking.
Deep blacks, imaginative use of shadows.
German Robles, returning as the stylish Count Lavud, is a master of cape flourishing.
Unfortunately the romantic male lead has been rewritten as a skirt chasing lech who has had an IQ lobotomy.
Along with insufferable comic relief.
Red Coats - 2024 - 6/10
Whatever that “thing” is, it just took out 400 men.
Survivors were those who fled. At the front of the yellow squad is a young, inexperienced commander.
Lost patrol, in the Colonial wilderness, in conflict with Washington’s troops.
Excellent photography in this short horror – thriller.
Premise could easily be expanded into a feature.
Kiss And Make Up - 1934 - 6/10
Dr. Maurice owns and operates the highly successful Temple Of Beauty in Paris.
Females engage in his expensive treatments, buy his creams, and, of course, adore him.
So much so, he suffers “women problems”, while failing to notice his loyal right hand, Annie.
Broad satire of beauty cures, and the chasing thereof, is timeless.
At this point, a discerning viewer can easily see the transformation of Archie into Cary.
The charm, the self-depreciating humor, the grace with females.
Echoes of the Music Hall lingers, as well, with Archie playing piano and singing “Love Divided By Two”.
El Conde - 2023 - 7/10
The adult children gather like vultures once they hear dear papa is ready to die.
Where is the money? Where are the bonds, the documents, the deeds, the wealth?
He doesn’t remember. He’s tired of living, He’s old. 250 years old, perhaps more.
French born Claude Pinochet would eventually become Augusto Pinochet, dictator of Chile.
That was before the overthrow. Now he lives in what appears to be an abandoned detention camp.
Very funny horror film, chock full of history, satire, and the perfidiousness of our species.
Arch from beginning to end. Perhaps too arthouse for the hoi polloi.
This assumes one knows “something” about history: French, Chilean, English.
Proxy - 2020 - 7/10
Surrogate, copy, replicant, clone, Victoria services clients.
Unresolved issues, simmering anger, lost love.
She is the target of, more often than not, hate, regret, violence.
A copy, tensions do accumulate, nevertheless.
Futuristic short benefits from quality actors, and restrained direction.
English subtitles = https://subscene.com/subtitles/proxy-2020/english/3306701
Manodrome - 2023 - 7/10
Ralphie now drives folks around in his car (Uber - Lyft - whatever it will be called in 2 years).
He has been laid off from an unnamed company for reasons unknown.
Anger, no, stymied rage, simmers just beneath his surface.
There is a pregnant girlfriend, whom he is unable to provide for or satisfy.
At the gym, he stares at other men, unsure of his identity, masculinity.
His is not toxic masculinity, but rather a stunted masculinity.
A mysterious clan of men (“Dads” and “Sons”) attempt to help him.
Jesse Eisenberg (if perhaps, a shade too old) is exceptional in this analysis of how modern society reduces males.