A few reviews . . (film or TV) — Page 150

Tilbury - 1987 - 6/10

Audun leaves the small village for Reyjavik, to swim in larger pools and help the British Army.
Reason, it’s 1940 and the Brits have set up fortifications around Iceland.
Audun is also on a mission to find his priest’s daughter, Gudrun, who disappeared in Reyjavik.
What he discovers, however, is that the beautiful Gudrun has a host of military admirers.
Among them, a strange character, almost misshapen that others seem oblivious to.
Strange folk horror of the tilberi, similar to a demon, suckled by a witch from a hidden teat.
The war setting adds incongruous humor, while Audun remains a back row student.

The Bloody Judge - 1970 - 5/10
AKA - Il Trono di Fuoco

The original Hanging Judge, highly active during the time of James II, the Monmouth Rebellion and Bloody Assizes.
Judge Jeffreys tries, sentences and executes witches, and those suspected of being witches.
Along with those implicated in the Monmouth Rebellion, or suspected of being involved.
Or those accused, rightly or wrongly.
Period costume drama looks fine (except cheap battle sequences). Courtroom theatrics overblown.
Director Jess Franco adds nudity, bloody torture, sex and cannibalism to liven up things.
Christopher Lee delivers a hammy performance (during one scene, stunt hands are used).

Greed - 1924 - 7/10

Post Gold Rush, McTeague works one of the mines, still trickling ore.
He decides to become a dentist, sets up practice.
When a friends brings his betrothed, McTeague soon desires her.
The girlfriend, Trina, marries our poor dentist, then wins a lottery.
The winnings, she refuses to share, even to spend, but clutches tight to the money.
Greed, in various forms, plays out over and over.
Watching this, as I have numerous times over the years, requires tremendous commitment.
The 1999 Turner restoration is the best print, although running time is 4 hours.

Nosferatu The Vampyre - 1979 - 7/10
AKA - Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht

Mr, Harker travels to Transylvania to sell real estate to County Dracula.
The lifeless ship arrives, large rats sweep into the town.
As townsfolk die, the frightened whisper, “Plague”.
You know the tale as well as anyone.
Herzog has made this a mash of Stoker and Murnau.
A slow film, lacking the usual visceral thrills, focusing instead on the creeping malignance.
Kinski gives a layered, nuanced performance as the doomed, driven creature.

Bullets Over Broadway - 1994 - 7/10

Roaring 20’s finds a young, aspiring playwright.
His script is a dud, yet he lands financing from a gangster, if he casts his girlfriend.
Along with the moll, Olive, tags a thug bodyguard, who watches rehearsals with increasing interest.
So much so, that he soon begins kibitzing, offering suggesting how to improve lines, scenes, narratives.
Excellent mix of crime and comedy, backstage antics and flawed ambitions.
Terrific ensemble cast garnered multiple award nominations.
One of Woody’s best films, although theatre goers may catch more jokes.

Hotel Coolgardie - 2016 - 7/10

Vacationing Finns, Lina and Stephanie had their credit cards stolen in Bali, their travel funds drained.
They make it to Australia where, hoping to rebuild their finances, they accept bartending jobs in the Outback.
Girls seem to come and go every few months. Fresh meat, the locals call them.
Coolgardie is a mining town, the bar fills with miners, lonely men, quietly aggressive men.
While sexism is paramount, social skills on display are low.

What is surprising is how participants knew cameras were rolling, comments recorded.
Lina and Steph are besieged throughout by eager faces.
And encouraged repeatedly to drink up, get wasted.
Unsettling documentary, often reminded me of Wake In Fright (1971).

King Eagle - 1971 - 6/10
AKA - Ying Wang // 鷹王

Reclusive Kung Fu master Jin Fei, known as King Eagle, disdains worldly matters.
Ignoring intra-clan rivalries and assassinations.
Even when blood stained culprits try to eliminate him, he remains aloof.
Yet, when an especially attractive chief nurses a open wound, his reserve thaws.
Plenty of fights in this Shaw Brothers production (too many, for me).
Best by far is Li Ching in a dual role: the sweet sister and the wicked beauty.
Plot is the usual conflict for dominance of the guild – region – world – galaxy.

The L-Shaped Room - 1962 - 6/10

Jane, 27-years-old, finally escapes her provincial and conservative French family.
In England, she has a brief dalliance, and, first timeout, hits Baby Jackpot.
Unsure of what to do, she rents the top room in a cheap flophouse.
Starts meetings fellow tenants, sharing stories, listening, opening her heart.
Themes and characters and backstories seem well-advanced for cinema in 1962.
This is an adult drama of souls whose worlds and choices seem to constrict tighter every year.
Marvelous peek at the nightclub scene just at the cusp between the Beatnik and Swinging.

Vampire In Venice - 1988 - 5/10
AKA - Nosferatu a Venezia

200 years earlier, the last known sighting of Nosferatu was in Venice.
Where he supposedly boarded a ship, disappeared, possibly drowned.
Such is Professor Catalano’s theory, and yet he is investigating.
Even to the point of taking part in an ill-advised séance.
Which ends up as a summons of sorts, and Nosferatu responds.

Frustrating film is steeped in atmosphere.
Venice, shrouded in mist and fog, makes a suitable location.
The mansion, locus of activities, is a rambling home, well-appointed, yet better days far behind.

Kinski, returning as Nosferatu, is an exhausted creature.
Unable to die, weary of the world, yet still answering a beckoning siren.
The narrative is messy (3-4 directors), money ran out, the result is a patchy affair.
If outtakes survive, one hopes a reedit might improve this.
Otherwise, worth a look.

Cunk On Earth - 2022 - 6/10

From cavemen to what will replace us, AI.
Iron Age conflicts to nuclear annihilation.
Philomena Cunk attempts to track humankind’s origins to possible extinction.
Five-part series is hit or miss. Wildly funny, to belaboring a stale joke.
Technotronic? Why, why, why?
The comedy is pretty flat. Blame bad writing (all males).
For fans of Ms Cunk, who, I perceive, is being written as ever dumber.

Simon Magus - 1999 - 7/10

More and more families depart the shtetl.
To reverse the exodus, Dovid has a plan: build a station for the approaching railway line.
Squire Albrecht agrees to sell him the land – if – Dovid will read his poetry.
(The squire lacks intelligent neighbors to discuss culture.)
Meanwhile, a mendacious businessman wants the land at any price.
Then there is Simon, the village simpleton.
Some view him sympathetically, others view him as crop blight.

Simon frequently meets the Devil, who gives him advice, or treacherous instructions.
Not horror, not folk-horror, this runs closer to fable.
For Rutger Hauer fans, this would make a nice double bill with The Mill And The Cross.

Notting Hill - 1999 - 7/10

Fate, or happenstance?
White-hot Hollywood actress meets Notting Hill bookshop owner.
Attraction is not immediate, yet circumstances reconnect them, and place barriers.
Excellent Rom-Com benefits from fine acting – and – genuine chemistry.
Not to overlook an outstanding supporting ensemble!
I tend to rewatch this every five years or so, usually on our anniversary.
Holds up remarkably well.

Domino - 2005 - 6/10

Real change of pace for Keira Knightley, playing a bounty hunter.
Domino was the real daughter of actor Laurence Harvey.
At the core of this over-elaborate film, is an armored car heist.
Then the patsies, a bounty hunter crew now in the eye of the F.B.I.
Knightley, who I scoff at frequently, is good as the beauty who embraces the underbelly.
A sloppy film, unfortunately, and I fault the directing and editing.
Wild cast only increases the disappointment.

Station Zero - 2024 - 6/10

At best, a scene, an incident, from a longer Horror flick.
Following mouth-to-mouth sessions in the firehouse, an intruder knocks.
Oh, no! A zombie. And our brawny firefighter is down.
Leaving the steamy scream queen isolated.
Proof of concept short for a potential feature.

Ashes To Ashes - 2008 - 7/10

Compelling sidespin to Life On Mars.
Oddly enough, modern day DI Alex Drake had been reading reports by Sam Tyler.
Then she was shot and found herself in 1981, and meeting DCI Gene Hunt and crew.
In S01, Drake is poorly written as a chronic whiner, with a mommy fixation, and dressing inappropriately,
By the second season, her character is harder and more professional.
Just as well, as episodes grow progressively darker each outing.

S03 was always planned as the conclusion.
A new character arrives, ostensibly from “Internal Affairs”, to unearth corruption.
At times, the narrative borders on metaphysical. The ghost of Sam Tyler revives as a major quest.
The ending? One of the best, and very thoughtful.
If you enjoyed Life On Mars, and can tolerate a somewhat campy S01, this show holds rewards.

Pulse - 2001 - 6/10
AKA - Kairo // 回路

Perhaps it was an errant program, perhaps it was inevitable.
Via the internet, the dead have begun to access our sphere.
And for every new arrival, a living soul perishes, disappears into a stain.
A few groups and individuals become aware of this phenomenon.
Dwindling survivors.
Moody J-horror is long on tension and isolation.
Unspoken is how the internet increasingly disassociates humanity.

The Sin Of Nora Moran - 1933 - 6/10

Pre-Code melodrama has the taboos in spades.
Adultery, rape, murder, coverups, death sentence.
At the heart of this is a young girl who spends her inheritance on a dance academy.
In New York, Broadway spurns her. Money dry, she joins the circus.
The story is told from several points of view, and Nora herself mixes memory with fantasy.
Sordid tale, yet the editing is extremely quick for its time and is absolutely fabulous!
Wipes, cuts, pans, dissolves, plenty of montages.
Restored print by UCLA is immaculate.

A Special Cop In Action - 1976 - 6/10
AKA - Italia a Mano Armata (Italy At Gunpoint)

All in a very busy week. Commissioner Betti has his hands full.
Hijackers grab a school bus of children, hide, demand ransom.
Meanwhile, a violent gang is targeting big banks.
And, arms smugglers are ever bolder, more flagrant.
Betti thinks the mastermind behind it all is Albertelli (John Saxon), an untouchable crime boss.
The result is three disjointed tales, stitched together with car chases, rooftop chases, fistfights.
Oh, and bullets. Blazing firepower in this high voltage Euro-Crime actioner / thriller.

You Only Live Twice - 1968 - 6/10
AKA - 007は二度死ぬ

Fleming’s novel is one of self-pity, vengeance, amnesia, resurrection.
The film is high style Japanese action, with 007 as a pinball in the Shinjuja arcade.
USA and CCCP space capsules disappear in orbit. Each nation blames the other. War seem likely.
The actual culprit? SPECTRE, lurking, according to MI5, somewhere in Japan.
More action and gadgetry in this, less style and panache.
Japanese locations are exotic, and the cast has plenty of headliners for those into Japanese cinema.
Bond does get rescued a lot, or relies much on Q‘s gizmos.
Earlier films are superior, although this remains a guilty pleasure.

Bra Boys - 2006 - 6/10

Written, directed and produced by Sunny Abberton, one of three brothers profiled in this documentary.
Filmed around Maroubra Beach, part of Sydney, but not the desirable neighborhood.
Story pleads the case that the Boys aren’t gang members, but a community tribe.
Gorgeous surf sequences interspersed with courtroom appearances and street violence.
Predates the Biarritz Surf Gang (2017) which likewise profiled waves and mayhem.
Worthwhile for those into surf porn, but don’t be fooled by the smile.

A Page Of Madness - 1926 - 6/10
AKA - Kurutta Ichipeiji // 狂った一頁

Manic, delusional, catatonic.
Various states of residents in a mental institution.
Viewed through the eyes of the custodian / janitor.
His wife is a patient, in a near-vegetative state.
Their daughter visits, yet her terror usually overcomes her.
One can only deduce the proceedings, as there are no inter-titles.
A difficult watch at times.
Highlights include a frenzied dancer who believes she is onstage, and a facility riot she causes.

Perfect Days - 2023 - 7/10

Hirayama works for Tokyo Toilets and cleans public restrooms in parks.
His life is extraordinarily structured. Dawn, drive to work, park lunch, bathhouse, supper.
He buys (and reads) books from a small shop, also visits a small bar occasionally.
By contrast, his young colleague’s life is a mess: short of money, a girlfriend he cannot afford.
Hirayama’s is an ordinary life, gentle, not boastful.
For many, he is invisible, which is typical of how most view retail or service workers.
He takes pleasures in small things: saving plants, listening to music, photography, observing.
A backstory of a troubled upbringing is implied in the merest of exchanges.
Wim Wenders film.

The Erl King - 2020 - 6/10

Following an auto accident that leaves Alfie injured and his father dead, the woodland god takes an interest.
Mother Julia has trouble reconnecting with her son, who holds on to the belief his father is alive.
Two souls, neither of whom can let go.
Quiet woodland short.

Suburra - 2015 - 7/10

Explosive, high voltage crime drama sprawling across a week in gaudy, glitzy Roma.
The opening 30-40 minutes is a tour de force of gorgeous visuals and minimal dialogue.
Characters and situations are propelled across the screen, in one instance literally.
Afterward, the tempo settles - to a degree - as a powerful intermediary tries to broker temporary peace between several layers of combatants.
A big deal is imminent, huge for leading families, but timing is delicate.
No matter. Tempers fiery hot and colder than ice demand red stained honor.
Superb cinematography, detailed interlocking narratives, make for a great adult flick.
Sex - nudity - language - streams of blood. γνῶθι σεαυτόν

The Devil’s Throat - 2019 - 6/10
AKA - Djavolskoto Garlo

The first mutilated corpse had his eyes replaced with sheep eyes.
Followed by another tortured body. There are clues this may be Islamic terror.
And the small town is already struggling with a refugee center.
The capital dispatches a lead investigator to take charge, a high strung female.
Long -winded Bulgarian series about a serial killer and buried secrets.
The meat of this 12-parter is the first two episodes and the last two.
The middle eight should have been condensed down to six, possibly four.
Those are misdirection and attempted relationships.
Lead duo are hammy actors, supporting cast is excellent.