The Lady In The Death House - 1944 - 5/10
The psychologist, the female being blackmailed, and the prison doctor / executioner.
Soon, one will be accused and convicted of murder, and the other, her boyfriend, will have to throw the switch.
While the psychologist will hurry to find out what happened (since movie police are too lazy).
Cheap PRC Noir is too much the psychologist smoking in the gents club, telling the tale.
Acting is routine, save for Lionel Atwill in his “post orgy infamy” period.
A curio - this film has more clock wipes than I have ever seen.
Blind Corner - 1963 - 6/10
Hit composer Paul, his loyal secretary and manager, watch as a new tune swings up the charts.
Missing is Paul’s wife, she of hot skirts and a painter boyfriend.
Paul is blind and in the way, and, well, accidents could be arranged.
Interesting Brit Noir (very late in the Noir run) is loaded with sex and a few twists.
Musical / dance numbers catch one offguard, yet seem typical and fitting.
Eurocrime! The Italian Cop And Gangster Films That Ruled The '70s - 2012 - 7/10
Thorough documentary on Italian film subgenre that followed Spaghetti Westerns, concurrent with Giallo.
The Poliziotteschi.
Influences for these films were Bullitt, Dirty Harry, French Connection.
Italian style. More gunplay, bloody violence, crazy chase sequences, nudity, and corruption.
Key interviewees include John Saxon, Franco Nero, Henry Silva, Antonio Sabato, Fred Williamson, Leonard Mann, Joe Dallesandro, along with writers, producers, directors.
Methods explained. As with Hong Kong, no sound during shooting. Stunts real, guns loaded, jumping from speeding cars – yes, the actors did that.
Reasons why these were wildly popular in Italy and much of the world, yet flopped Stateside.
Fast paced, funny, informative, this is an outstanding overview, although not necessarily an introduction.
Filmed just in time, as many of the subjects are now gone.
Femme - 2023 - 7/10
Jules, cross-dressing entertainer, needs cigarettes during the show.
The neighborhood is rough, in the convenience shop thugs wander in.
Insults thrown, Jules replies in kind, and receives a brutal beating.
Much later, he recognizes one of his attackers, and realizes he is a closeted homosexual.
The slow, cold craft of revenge ensues
Deep exploration of fear, rage, identity, inadequacy, even possessive jealousy.
The two performers give their characters a depth that belies their surface simplicity.
Off kilter thriller, not for all tastes, not for phobes.
Traitor: S02 - 2021 - 7/10
AKA - Reetur 2
Alfred Vint returns, higher this time in the Estonian Defense Ministry.
He still receives payments from his Russian masters, but he is also blackmailed by them…
Intelligence now has him in their sights, however, even as he undermines security further
A smart espionage thriller, low on action such as bullets or explosives.
This is stealth, surveillance, spying, gathering intel.
Vint can be extraordinarily maddening, as he is one slippery bastard.
Both seasons have been quality, and a trailer for S03 shows promise.
Advise you wait for good subtitles; A I remains undesirable.
The Deepest Breath - 2023 - 5/10
Take a deep breath, then dive. Down, down, down, deep as you can.
Then return topside, still using that same breath.
Run out of air, lose consciousness, get disoriented. Too bad.
In competitions, there are scuba divers, but because of compression they can only observe.
There are “support divers” who risk their lives on a single breath so deep divers can compete.
Early on, in this documentary, I began to dislike key players.
I never bought their stories, the “relationship”, words increasingly rang off-key.
Fahrenheit 451 - 1966 - 7/10
Thoughtful adaptation of Bradbury’s prescient novel grows more relevant with each year.
Fireman Montag works to incinerate books. All books. Reading has been outlawed.
Instead, the populace is addicted to shallow, mindless television programming.
Montag’s wife is typical. She is childlike, stunted intellectually and emotionally.
All well and good for him, until he is challenged by another female to actually read one of the books.
Intense thriller, futuristic effects, and a lush Bernard Herrmann score.
Elephant in the room: Instead of outlawing books, stop teaching children how to read.
Books are still banned to this day.
Would-be oppressors do not want citizens to think.
Grim Reaper - 1976 - 4/10
Salvation takes but a moment, yet damnation is eternal.
Ma and son Tim are dedicated church goers, while Pa and son Frankie drink and watch football.
Frankie races stock cars, a deadly sport filled with horrific crashes; and one afternoon …
And since Frankie ain’t saved, Hell claims his soul.
Rest of the film is Pa wrestling with faith.
Guest evangelists include Jerry Falwell and Jack Van Impe. The proselytizing is numbing.
Stock car pileups are a highlight, as are the bizarre Biblical reenactments.
Actors in headgear, robes, Roman Centurions, etc … talking with Southern drawls.
I can only knock this so much. It was earnestly made, if incompetent.
The Hateful Beast - 1970 - 6/10
AKA - Nihon Bôkô Ankokushi: Onjû // 日本暴行暗黒史 怨獣
Two vagabond criminals arrive in the village from Edo.
One seeks dishonest coin, the other murderous revenge.
First things first, the angry one murders a prostitute and tries to frame an old adversary.
Here, events are interesting: as the two foes tell the same tale – differently. And it is never clarified.
Heady amount of sex throughout, fitting since sex and female betrayal permeate the history.
Brooding tale, borrows from Noir with characters doomed by Fate, personal wounds, flawed assumptions.
Pulp - 1972 - 6/10
The writer of lurid paperbacks is commissioned to ghost write the famous mystery man’s memoirs.
Ex-movie star (played with glee by Mickey Rooney) who starred in 1930’s gangster films.
Now, he lives in isolated retirement on a Mediterranean island.
Nonetheless, the book promises to tell-all, and is already ruffling feathers.
Lighthearted spoof delivers laughs and jokes, in accordance with how knowledgeable the viewer is.
Michael Caine is sardonic and caustic. Surprise guests include Lizabeth Scott, Lionel Standler, Robert Sacchi.
Location filming on sunny Malta. Lewis Carroll, red herrings, deadly priests, a romp for enthusiasts.
Jurassic World - 2015 - 5/10
Reboot of Jurassic Park into a giant theme park (20,000+ guests).
There is the money-making park, and there the research InGen, crafting new dinosaurs for military use.
Inside massive containment walls so there is no possibility of escape into –
Wait! What just happened?
Romance angle does not work, nor do kids in danger.
Dinosaurs are impressive, except they are given anthromorphic personalities.
Please, no matter the size, lizards have lizard brains.
Predictable, family friendly, depending on how much carnage you expose your children to.
Sad that this was beneath derivative. As is, popcorn for bubbleheads.
The Secrets Of Finistère - 2023 - 6/10
AKA - Les Secrets du Finistère
The murder happened years before, and would have gone unnoticed except that the sacred tree fell in a howling storm, exposing the skeletal remains.
The body was laid out in accordance with Druidic rites. There is a Druid community in the area.
Questions, chief being was this murder or sacrifice?
French mystery combines investigation, apparitions, Druid lore, familial conflicts.
As always with these particular French productions, superb outdoor photography.
This outing, the steep cliffs of Brittany.
Becomes A Woman - 2023 - 7/10
Francie works at Kress, in the music department.
1920’s, this means sheet music, and she sings, on-request, for customers inquiring about a given song.
Francie is a goody two-shoes, does not date, gives her earning to Ma.
Coworker Florry is a cynical Flapper, knows what boys want, likes to party, and knows how to avoid 9 month consequences.
Enter Mr. Kress’s son, rich swell, who sweeps Francie off her feet, and leaves her a gift – 9 months later.
That is Act One of three distinct acts.
One set in the sheet music section, the second in Francie’s blue collar, noisy home, the third in Francie’s room.
This is an early female empowerment tale, terribly risqué for its time
Originally written by Betty (A Tree Grows In Brooklyn) Smith in 1931.
Enjoyable, if something of a play of parts, Francie’s journey of experience.
Come Blow Your Horn - 1963 - 6/10
Fun artifact of the Rat Pack, of the Chairman, Sinatra.
Sinatra (who was pushing 50 at this time) welcomes his young brother (Bill, 22) into his swinging pad.
The older brother, a ladies man, decides to expose the younger one to soft temptations.
Fast-paced romantic comedy has beautiful women, a Sinatra song, boisterous innuendo.
Has the feel of a play (script by Neil Simon and Norman Lear), along with the winking sensibility of Playboy.
Shallow fun, more for my father’s generation, still entertaining.
Supervixens - 1975 - 5/10
Russ Meyer nonsense / followup to Vixen (1969), lacks the former’s bite.
Clint works at the gas station, where he probably reeks of gasoline and oil.
No matter, he is ab-so-lutely irresistible to local ladies.
His sexually demanding and insatiable wife, Super Angel.
Persistent customer, Super Lorna, of the pendulous orbs.
In due course, the gasboy meets Super Soul, Super Cherry, I forget who else, all “Super”.
Copious nudity, unrestrained sex, barely a plot as Meyer edged ever closer to hardcore porn.
Trivia: This is where Meyer lured Charles Napier out of retirement and into a long Hollywood career.
The Avengers: S04 - 1966 - 6/10
First season after the departure of Cathy Gale (the formidable Honor Blackman).
This marks the beginning of the Emma Peel (Diana Rigg) era, but is likely NOT the Emma fans think of.
Peel is less intimidating than Gale, more kittenish, more deferential to Steed.
In most episodes, she requires manly rescuing.
Late, very late in the season, Rigg must have asserted herself, and by “The House That Jack Built”, Peel is the cool, calculating partner fans think of.
The series, however, is becoming campy, playful. Not silly, but clearly heading that way.
“A Sense Of History” makes an interesting example. Robin Hood, arrows, murders, yet a late chance to see vintage Steed, ruthless and a brawler.
Agatha And The Limitless Readings - 1981 - 7/10
AKA - Agatha et Les Lectures Illimitées
Sister and brother, both early 30’s, rendezvous at an empty seaside hotel for, perhaps, the last time.
The site where, in their teens, they first “saw” the other, and developed passionate feelings.
Feelings seem mixed. Neither guilt, nor regret, simply sorrow at the imminent parting.
Dialogue propels the narrative. Theatrical, arch, stilted, akin to poetry.
The siblings are rarely shown. Photography lingers on waves, skies, horizons, the beach.
I imagine we ought to consider the tide of memory, surging, shifting, receding.
Not for all tastes, but if one is patient, quite patient, and able to listen, this is deeply rewarding.
The Arsenal Stadium Mystery - 1939 - 6/10
Enroute to the big match, an argument in the car. Bombshell and the striker.
Lovers tiff? Hardly. She’s met someone … with money.
Hour later, in the second half, look who drops dead on the pitch.
Heart failure? Broken heart? Or was it murder?
Scotland Yard arrives (a breezy Leslie Banks), while teammates evade answers.
Yes, female trouble lies at the root of this quick paced mystery.
Interspersed with football shenanigans.
Wet Saturday film.
Rock On Fire - 1994 - 6/10
AKA - Girl On Fire // Ji mi zhong an zhi zhi ming you huo // 机密重案组之致命诱惑
Strap in, or strap on, this Hong Kong Cat III is one nasty piece of work.
A gun deal has blown up, owing to an impulsive cop.
Arms went with one middleman, money with the other.
Police want them, so do the top gangsters involved.
As do a brother / sister hit team from Japan.
That’s the bare bones of an almost incoherent story.
In between, there is a ton of sex. Consensual, misogynist, brutish.
The female hitwoman is a black widow. Mounting, mating, murdering.
Some jaw dropping fights, including one between backhoes,
Still, cops or no cops, the hit team own the film. Mikie Ng Miu Yee should have had a career.
Gone With the Wind (1939)
1 star out of four
Scarlett O’Hara is just as manipulative and self-centered as Bella Swan, and just as unsympathetic. Speaking of unsympathetic, the rest of the white cast is fine with owning slaves, and Rhett is abusive to Scarlett. The only saving graces are the cinematography and some of the sets. Might very well be one of the most overrated films out there. The Oscars made a huge mistake when they gave this Best Picture.
Warriors Of The Future - 2022 - 6/10
AKA - Ming yat zin gei // 明日战记
Earth reels from wars, environmental devastation, toxic air.
A giant meteorite slams into B-16 (Asia somewhere), and a giant, water hungry plant emerges.
Heavy rains are forecast, humanity is at stake, who do you call?
Yes, the marines, or Air Combat Unit.
Mix of tropes here. From shooter games, to Aliens (even a Newt), to the bug hunt.
Conspiracy stuff, too.
If you want A-C-T-I-O-N, this boasts lots of full screen splatter and it does not overstay.
Veggie brain fun, although it appears Beijing heavily censored this one.
The Taste Of Things - 2023 - 7/10
AKA - La Passion de Dodin Bouffant
Not exclusive to gourmands, for pretty close.
Almost dialogue free for the first twenty minutes as Eugénie (Juliette Binoche) prepares an elaborate meal for Dodin and his fellow gourmands.
A romantic relationship dances about, yet the culinary side definitely predominates.
Leisurely paced, with scenes of preparation, followed with conversations of the fare.
These are “day long” affairs, course after course, leaving this viewer somewhat exhausted.
Adult tonic to juvenile foodie culture. Those to whom food is “so yummy”.
Side story of a young epicure who seeks apprenticeship could make a possible sequel.
Ichi The Killer - 2001 - 6/10
AKA - Koroshiya 1 / /殺し屋1
Early Miike movie that broke him to a larger audience.
Fanboys already knew him from Fudoh, and earlier titles, the arthouse crowd from Audition.
Wildly inventive yakuza story boasts lakes of splatter, sick humor, and memorable villains.
The “plot” is much too convoluted (perhaps they were unable to condense the manga).
As with so many Miike flicks, the opening act is ballistic, chased with an overlong idle stretch.
If curious, if you have a stomach for brutality and gore, the Japanese cut is the way to go.
Help! - 1965 - 6/10
Ringo receives a priceless ruby ring from an adoring fan.
Ordered to return the ring, or become the next blood sacrifice to a Kali cult.
The Beatles second feature is a silly spoof of – I dunno what.
Cartoonish, goofy comedy, the lads even look bored (they were actually stoned).
The script bears much of the blame, as the sharp wit from the first film is missing.
Nevertheless, the musical numbers are outstanding! The last of the “Invasion” sound.
Film remains empty-headed fun, golden nostalgia for those with long memories.
The Black Shield Of Falworth - 1954 - 6/10
Once familiar staple of late night reruns, less so nowadays.
Peasant siblings Myles and Meg are, unbeknownst to them, actually royalty.
Titles stripped, lands seized, all from treachery.
Now the villain has malevolent designs on the king himself.
Luckily, a loyal noble starts secretly training Myles for knighthood.
Gorgeous Technicolor splash boasts costumes and swords, and excellent support.
Tony Curtis, with his Bronx honk, is miscast, though he was a mega star at this time.