A few reviews . . (film or TV) — Page 161

The film Godzilla Minus One is a fantastic addition to the endearing saga of everyone’s favorite female badass gargantuan monster! A must see, well deserving of its Oscar wins!

Violent Night - 2022 - 6/10

Santa, disillusioned with another crop of holiday ingrates, gets sodden at the pub.
Before climbing into the sleigh and later inadvertently crashing an unmerry heist.
High tech band of thieves have invaded the maximum security fortress of the ultra rich.
Bludgeoned proceedings are stuffed with black-humored comedy.
Couple of mushy bits that sog the dash-along pace, but these are few.
For those who appreciate Yule mayhem, there are nods to perennial favorites.
Prefer Christmas crimson of the splashed kind?
Suffer no guilt.

The film Abigail is a mediocre offering with very few redeeming qualities. The best it has to offer is the overly repeated trope of the slasher villain being the hero of the story. Not great, but not terrible either. The music was subpar at best, and the acting was except for a few notable exceptions lackluster. Not a must see, Vampire fans give this a pass.

This Is Christmas - 2022 - 7/10

“Since we all take the same train every day, I’d like to invite you to the first annual Christmas party for passengers in this compartment.”
Ah, the chance gesture of goodwill and holiday bonhomie. Inviting absolute, total strangers.
Adam’s cynical girlfriend warns they are likely psychopaths, drooling homeless, or insistent fundamentalists.
Nevertheless, he feels somewhat unmoored this season and reaches out.
British Rom-Com manages to be farfetched and predictable.
Yet, it is a charming, feel-good story, and one of the best ones in the past few years.
Hallmark has so saturated the season with syrup and formula, it is worthwhile to mention rare quality.

Todd McFarlane’s Spwan (1997) is an excellent show with plenty of heart and hurt. The writing is stellar, the visuals are terrifying , the voice acting is Shakespearean quality, and the score is hauntingly perfect. There are two caveats to this series, the first is that its technically unfinished as it was cancelled during its third season, and the second is that it has high levels of violence and nudity. Not meant for the faint of heart, and certainly not for anyone looking for a story with a happy ending. A hard watch and a must see for fans of the darker side of comic book mediums.

Once Upon A Murdoch Christmas - 2016 - 6/10

During holiday revels, the rich. I mean really rich, are being robbed.
Their gifts are pawned or exchanged, the resultant funds used for practical necessities.
The Toronto force investigates, but the thieves are technologically advanced.
Indeed, for fans of steampunk, there are outrageous gadgets and scenes.
Despite that, the plot is overly schmaltzy, and saccharine to disbelief.
Side plots are even more corny.
Escapist Christmas fare, lacking edge, yet fine for family viewing.

It’s A Wonderful Knife - 2023 - 4/10

The sinister Angel Of Death launches a series of murders during Christmas.
After two kills, high schooler Winnie snuffs him – and – look who our killer is!
One year later, the town of Angel Falls has moved on, save for Winnie, who is miserable.
So miserable, she wishes she had never been born. And lo, it is granted.
Soon, without Winnie, the town soon suffers a reign of blood.
Intriguing premise, mutating the classic It’s A Wonderful Life (1946) into a slasher.
The script is poor, however, ranging from Hallmark to ignorance of the horror subgenre.
Direction is clunky, unimaginative and dull, lacking humor, style, thrust and reverence for the genre.
A lot could have done with this concept, pity it was handled by the inept.

The film Poor Things is a story whose plot is the strangest I have ever had the opportunity to watch. This “movie” has notions on feminism, misogyny, and philosophy. I have no idea how to feel about this. Anyone else have this problem?

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang - 2005 - 6/10

It’s a downright shame. In fact, it stinks, this being the Christmas week.
Lockhart, fleeing from a botched robbery, somehow gets cast in a Hollywood movie.
The role, a detective. Training him will be a real PI, Gay Perry.
Poolside, Lockhart eyes the hotties, just before he is involved with murders.
While something of a shaggy dog yarn, there are multiple narratives and backstories.
The root is pulp fiction, with hardboiled dicks, lost femmes, broken dreams.
Humor very dark in this, with Downey a scattered, unreliable narrator.
Val Kilmer floors it as the cynical, barb wielding shamus.
Ain’t much Yule here, aside from Santa and cocktail waitresses resembling Hugh Hefner’s wet dream.

The film Nosferatu (2024) is a fantastic addition to the vampire mythos. The acting was superb, the writing Shakespearean, the effects phenomenal, the score bone chilling, and the cinematography masterful. A modern horror masterpiece If there ever was one! I highly recommend it!

The Sweeney - 1975 - 6/10

Hard-hitting, in-your-face series of London’s Flying Squad (Sweeney Todd).
Followup to Regan (1974) and a huge influence on Life On Mars.
Coppers try to nab petty crooks, get stymied by procedures, watch efforts come to naught.
Gritty, brutal at times, with John Thaw and Dennis Waterman an effective team.
Likely on a par with Starsky & Hutch as far a mayhem, except the odds more balanced here.
The team, the squad, the department, they lose their fair share of rounds.
These are also men who smoke, booze, swear, shirt chase.
Hardly a slick series, either. A bitter, melancholy vibe pervades their world.

Siren X - 2008 - 4/10
AKA - Yôjo Densetsu Seirên X: Mashô no Yûwaku

The video crew heads out to a remote lake to shoot a “mini-skirt adventure”.
A polite way to V-porn. While refusing onscreen stuffing, the lead female aspires to a honorable career.
Fortunately for the menfolk, they have landed themselves near the neighborhood water demon.
A succubus, who even has her own minimally furnished, stately manor.
Yes, the men are soon bounced till they drop.
Noisy proceedings resemble coked-up, frantic gophers.
Enjoyment may depend on one’s dating circuits.

Close Your Eyes - 2023 - 6/10
AKA - Cerrar los Ojos

While working on “The Farewell Gaze”, the movie that was never finished, the lead actor simply disappeared.
Decades later, a popular “missing persons” show hires to old director to try and find the actor.
After all, there was never a corpse found. Conspiracy theorists have flourished.
The quest into forgotten paths pulls him and the viewer along.

Film is beautifully lensed, quietly acted, and the bookends are magical.
(One wishes the abandoned “Farewell Gaze” was available.)
There is leisurely paced, and there is plodding. This is agonizingly slow.
Sluggish, and overlong. The narrative is not that rich, nor are the characters.
Arthouse cinema – know thyself.

Lucy Worsley’s Christmas Carol Odyssey - 2019 - 6/10

Always sigh inducing when a presenter puts their own name first and foremost.
Historian Lucy Worsley sweeps the songs from pagan into Medieval into the Great War.
Admittedly, the earlier Wassail songs seem more fun, their stories not over-told.
Plenty of carols in this, also a fair bit of fill to pad the time length.
Good as atmosphere, purring in the background while revels are ongoing.
For the more adventurous, check out The Unthanks: A Very English Winter (2012).

The film Anatomy Of A Fall is a fascinating murder mystery that touches upon the unknowns of a murder trial. The movie touched upon the problems that are also presented when a child becomes put in the middle of a dispute between parents. Well deserving of its awards.

Midnight Clear - 2017 - 6/10

Dad loves Christmas. He also exhibits simmering anger this year.
Add a wee bit of instability, and Dad frightens his wife and children.
Family traditions ain’t always what they’re cracked up to be.
Short film, stick for the twist.
Holiday fare for Grinch and Krampus celebrants.

Inequality For All - 2013 - 7/10

Robert Reich addresses the college auditorium, as well as a room filled with blue collar.
Trying to explain where the middle class went, how everyone is financially broke.
And how the very few, the 1% at the top have so much wealth, that they can buy or tilt elections.
Reich is thoughtful, reasonable, trying to explain in simple language.
The worrying thought is that wealth disparity is even greater today than it was in 2013.
Solutions require political will, which is impossible for politicians without backbones.
Of course, we, the electorate, keep reinstating failures again and again.

Call Me Tonight - 1986 - 5/10
AKA - Kōru Mī Tunaito //トゥナイト

Ryo has a bit of a problem.
Anytime he gets “aroused” he turns into a destructive monster.
Teeth, claws, bloodlust.
So, does Ryo contact a doctor? Priest? Scientist?
Nope, he phones the local escort service.
Soon, he and his date are trailed by street toughs.
Watered down hentai, poor anime that simply resembles manga panels.
As a parody of the genre, however, not bad.

The film A Complete Unknown is a fantastic biopic that translates the life of Bob Dylan in a great way! A must see and a great watch. Timothee Chalamey is indeed a great addition to the great profession of acting.

You Can Redo Your Life, But You Have To Die First - 2020 - 6/10

“You’re telling me, you invested that cube with bits and bobs and plutonium?”
“Yep.”
“And it’s a time displacemen – It’s a reset button?”
“Yep.”
SciFi short mixes toxic comedy with lengthy dialogue.
Enjoyment may hinge on your tolerance for British self-absorption, self-loathing humor.
Think Extras or Camping.

Samurai Vendetta - 1959 - 7/10
AKA - Hakuōki // 薄桜記

Intersecting paths of two swordsmen from different / rival schools.
One is a ronin, with a slightly upward trajectory. The other still a samurai, yet Fate is unkind.
Mutual respect between the pair cause dissension in their clans, and later expulsion.
Classic chambara , steeped in honor, the samurai code, the breath of revenge.
Knowledge of the history of the 47 Ronin is essential.
Star-making roles for Raizo Ichikawa (Sleepy Eyes Of Death) and Shintaro Katsu (Zatoichi).
As with much Japanese cinema of this period, the composition throughout is peerless.

The Big Racket - 1976 - 6/10
AKA - Il Grande Racket

A quartet of enforcers shake down small businesses for protection money.
No pay, the stores are trashed, burned. Wives and daughters raped, murdered.
Cops hound them, but they hide behind the law. If police get tough, lawyers cry foul.
Extremely violent Euro-Crime, heavy on beatings, misogyny, and ballistics.
Lead villains are particularly well cast, their smirking arrogance, sadistic satisfaction.
As with so many of these, even with blood vengeance, the aftertaste is bitter.

Elizabeth Rex - 2004 - 7/10

Essex is to be executed for treason at dawn.
Ex-lover Elizabeth, monarch, spends the night awake.
Not with courtiers or politicians, but with other professional deceivers.
Actors and writers, in this case, William Shakespeare and members of the troupe.
Heady drama compares the privileges of love versus the obligation of rule.
Limitations of being a man, or a woman. Speaking one’s mind, or speaking too freely.
Experience akin to the fly in the room, observing. A remarkable show.
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3352639

The film Nightbitch is another arthouse film, just like Poor Things. This one acts as an allegory for the inequities in parenthood, and the contradictions of the social expectations placed on mothers and fathers. While an odd watch at times, I nevertheless highly recommend it!

Joko Anwar’s Nightmares And Daydreams - 2024 - 7/10

Seven chapter anthology from Indonesia’s maestro of horror.
Installments are stand-alones. Some conclude, others end weirdly.
While Indonesia is largely Muslim, these are steeped in folklore and superstition.

Stories reflect values, castes, horrors.
Wealth, and lack of same, hold hands with death and betrayals.
One soul gets lost in the theater of his youth, another searches for a sister she never knew she had.

Even the righteous, trying to behave ethically, err. Consequences are swift.
These may be alien, but let Anwar’s mood envelope you.
The finale manages to go wildly over the top, and link preceding episodes.
Fans of this director, crash the gate.