A few reviews . . (film or TV) — Page 173

The Incredible Shrinking Man - 1957 - 7/10

Out fishing, Scott encounters a thick fog, probably radioactive.
In time, he begins to shrink. There is no cure, and no foretelling how much he will diminish.
One can watch this for the terror angles, and some of the encounters are life and death.
Then there is the existential horror of losing your identity, recalibrating, then losing more identity.
This plays out with his wife Louise, and later a carnival worker, Clarice.
Boys will relish the battles, men will grasp the loss of stature (masculinity).
Women may possibly say, “Oh, look at the cute cat!”

The Beguiled - 1971 - 7/10

Wounded Union soldier, deep behind Confederate lines, is taken to an all-female school.
They - girls, teachers, headmistress, staff - they should turn him over to Confederate authorities.
Instead, they take a shine to the flattering, handsome man.
The school slowly tuns into a fox in the henhouse scene.
Jealousies, competition, as well as sexual shenanigans heat the pot to boiling.
Southern Gothic drama finds the soldier (Eastwood) in control and out of his depth.
He never quite grasps how dangerous the female can be.
Underrated Eastwood film, challenging fan-base expectations.

Survive Style 5+ - 2004 - 6/10

“What’s your function in life?”
A birdman, an ineffective murderer, a British assassin, burglars.
Random stories that barely connect, linked by Vinnie Jones’ menacing character…
None are particularly compelling, and the interest factor declines right quick.
All feel like improvised sketches.
As for comedy, this was too silly for me.
I never laughed, just wondered why I bought this one.

Wisconsin Death Ride - 1999 - 6/10

Hard to categorize this kinda/sorta Docu-drama.
Wisconsin, 1890-1900, in and around Black River Falls.
Newspaper articles, diaries, medical extracts.
The mines close, one of the banks fails after a bank run, people go to hell.
Insanity, suicides, arson, murders, adultery, epidemics, underage assassins.
One man lays himself down or railroad tracks, another blows his head off with dynamite.
Intermittently, modern scenes indicate how “normal” the area is today.
Funny at times, yet my take was how easily people slip into madness – or murder.

West By God - 2023 - 6/10

Nelly spots Dane across the pool.
She knows he’s a dealer, but agrees to go for a ride.
One deal misfires, but mostly they drive around, talk, gaze at the hills.
Title refers to West Virginia, and this short captures some of the emptiness.
Lot of opportunities have dried up there, so dealing – it’s a living.

Charley Varrick - 1973 - 7/10

“The last of the independents,” states crop-duster Varrick, who now adds bank robbery to boost earnings.
Most recent one, in a podunk, one-horse town, nets $750 K.
Which Varrick (a droll Walter Mattheu) realizes is laundered Mafia money.
And they‘ll be coming, with more persistence than local police and the FBI.
The mob dispatch “Molly” (Joe Don Baker), charming, polite, brutally terrifying.
A great heist flick, where amazing luck becomes the worst luck of all for the thieves.

The Ballad Of Wallis Island - 2025 - 7/10

Herb accepts an offer of a suitcase of cash to perform at a small island.
Unbeknownst, his ex-musical partner has also been invited.
Despite artistic chemistry, there is a history of damaged personal feelings.
Old partner Nell is married and long out of music, while Herb is a sellout, or artistic compromiser.
Advertised as a “big-hearted comedy”, this is a soft ballad of loss.
Lost youth, lost love, lost moment. Hopes, mere flickers.
Yet, as with many losses, what fills the void is unpredictable.

The Enchanted - 1984 - 7/10

The old neighbor, Booker, tries to warn him about the peculiar brood.
Following a few years at sea, young Royce returns to the empty family farm.
Living out in the woods are the Perdrys, who offer help – for a pittance.
The oldest girl, Twyla, puts the glamour on Royce, and she is soon in his bed.
Milking the stamen, as well as clouding his reason.

Perhaps too slow for many, Southern yarn set on the fringes between subsistence and the backwoods.
I recognized the landscape almost immediately. Florida scrub. Slash pines, palmetto, cypress, moss.
Strange, hypnotic film of border crossings, and the tenuous veil between worlds.

Gold Diggers Of 1935 - 1935 - 7/10

Not 42nd Street but damn, this is fun.
Young Dick works the summer resort to pay for med school.
(Factor in the Depression, and the undercurrents will make more sense.)
Wealthy, penny-pinching patron hires him to chaperone her daughter.
Meantime, a lavish fundraising show is underway.
Please, this is a Busby Berkeley musical. Despite sly jokes and innuendo the river runs to the finale.
And gracious, “Lullaby Of Broadway” is a showstopper: mammoth choreography, as Broadway baby says goodnight.

Eddie Murphy: Delirious - 1983 - 7/10

Hard to imagine this is over forty years old.
Easy to forget just how damned funny Eddie Murphy was that this stage.
His career was on fire already, and this standup is an avalanche of jokes and stories.
Raunchy, off color, politically correct? (ha, that wasn’t a thing yet).
Those who dismiss Murphy for his Disney films overlook his exuberant youth.
Check out 48 Hrs, hell check out his fantastic homage to Dolemite (overlooked by the Oscars).
Raw gold. Not for the squeamish, easily offended or moralistic.

The 2025 How To Train Your Dragon is the best live action reboot that shouldn’t exist. It’s literally just a shot for shot remake. Nothing new to see here folks. Give this one a pass, unless you’re feeling nostalgic.

The Snapper - 1993 - 6/10

Sharon, after a night of drinking and debauchery. Soon realizes a snapper (baby) is coming.
Her family is supportive and ashamed, antagonistic and repentant.
Broad Irish comedy will resonate with some, less with others.
Might depend on the sort / size of family you grew up in or live with.
I wanted to enjoy this, eager to laugh, but this was very hit and miss for me.
Next to me, the girls laughed and laughed.
Colm Meaney towers as the father in full charge in this.

Green Snake - 1993 - 6/10
AKA - Ching Se // 青蛇

Two female snakes adopt human form to mix with villagers.
One has her eye on a shy scholar and longs for romance and more.
The other, younger, seeks ordinary pleasures of song, dance, food, joy.
Threatening them is a rigid, over-zealous monk.
He ignores precepts that one can reincarnate into higher existences.
His dogmatic stance is one obstacle, the younger snake sister’s jealously is another.
Dizzying, often confusing Tsui Hark fantasy, makes the most of fog and open sets.
Plot is based on a Chinese folktale, with shortcuts. Repeat viewing helps.