A few reviews . . (film or TV) — Page 174

Sult - 2018 - 6/10

Predator and prey flirt in wordless horror short.
Seduction, rejection, lingering malice.
Unnamed characters, means you will have to work out events on the fly.
Drinks always taste better when they’re free.

Broadway Danny Rose - 1984 - 6/10

Who happens to be, if not inept, then he is simply unable to land quality talent.
Some are relics from vaudeville, others seem like circus sideshow, some charity cases.
His washed up singer, Lou, is enjoying a comeback, and cheating on his family with a hot blonde.
Who is also the girlfriend of a mobster.
Interesting Woody Allen movie mixes jokes with violence and betrayals.
Allen surely had long experience and deep memories of characters like these.
Exaggerated, sure, yet the bittersweet truth makes this part of his heady run of successes.
For the Mia Farrow faithful, this is one of her finest performances.

The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg - 1964 - 8/10
AKA - Les Parapluies de Cherbourg

Star-crossed Geneviève and 20-year-old Guy are desperately in love.
Intoxicating and heady as only the young experience it.
Her mother disapproves, however.
Fate intervenes in the form of Guy’s mandatory military service, and absence.
Poignant love story told entirely in music and song.
Sweeping set design, magnificent use of color.
Aching film, especially for those who had the great love.
Arthouse types, if you have not viewed yet, then you owe yourself.

Intimacy - 1966 - 5/10

Walter has been cooking the books with his company, plus he’s in hock to loan sharks.
If he can just swing the agency contract with the high and mighty Jim.
Walt tries bribery, alcohol, then sends a blonde hooker to Jim’s room.
The whole time, a hidden camera rolls, in case any frisky business occurs.
This ought to be sleazy entertainment, save this was filmed in two rooms.
Worse, this is a marathon talkfest.
Boring, despite attractive cast and voyeuristic come-on.

Intimacy - 2001 - 6/10

Highly charged sexual relationship between bartender and aspiring actress.
Every Wednesday, she appears at his dilapidated flat for rolling on the cluttered floor.
Where did they initially meet? Unexplored.
He walked out on his family earlier. She still belongs, but is a chronic cheater.
A coproduction, this UK film looks and feels very French.
The sheer nudity and sex may put off a large audience, particularly Americans.
Arthouse fare of loneliness and obsession, disassociation and emotional longing.

The Reincarnation Of Isabel - 1973 - 5/10
AKA - Riti, Magie Nere e Segrete Orge nel Trecento…

Isabel, a witch burned, is resurrected (by reincarnations of those who killed her).
No reason why or how they summon Isabel is given.
From here, the story slips, careens in varying directions.
The narrative feels like fragments of dreams, stitched loosely together.
Style over substance, yet for style points this is gorgeous.
Attractive females, kaleidoscope colors, a seedy, decadent tone.
Note: Years ago, I bought the Redemption laserdisc.
I was thrown by countless characters and random plotting. I am still confused.

El Mariachi - 1992 - 6/10

Case of mistaken identity.
A wandering musician and a gang who assume he is a murderous hitman.
The men pursue in droves, while the guitarist finds refuge, and romance, with an attractive female bar owner.
That’s the plot in a nutshell. The energy, however, is off the scale.
Despite an amateur cast, despite a budget of under $8000, this became a huge hit and made director Rodriguez a Hollywood player.
He would work with major stars, with multi-million dollar budgets.
None would ever have the heart and soul, the authenticity, of this, his first release.

The Divorcee - 1930 - 6/10

Ted cheats on Jerry, so Jerry has a quick fling of her own.
Ted, scandalized, demands a divorce!
Soon both are splashing in murky, hedonistic waters.
Pre-Code drama of manners alternates between sultry and stuffy
Norma Shearer is surprisingly sexy, while Chester Morris is an overstarched collar.
Viewed via a historical lens, this is illuminating, although other Pre-Codes are more fun.

Exte: Hair Extensions - 2007 - 5/10
AKA - Ekusute // エクステ

A young female is washed up dead. Save for her hair, which keeps growing.
And what luscious hair! Glorious tresses that a collector / fetishist starts selling to salons.
Too bad the hair turns out to be cursed.
Clear signpost that the “dead wet girls” cycle was finished.
More campy than frightening, silly more than scary.
I felt cheated the first time I watched. Second time, I decided to view as comedy / satire and this was better.
Better still, find other wet girls for your enjoyment.

Panic Room - 2002 - 6/10

Mother and daughter move into New York multistory flat, with a “panic room”.
Seems the previous owner had good reason, as he kept his stash here and not in banks.
Villains assault the building, Ma and Sarah slam the room shut.
Momentum swiftly downshifts, as should one’s expectations.
Many folks overlay social commentary on this, fair enough.
Yet as a high tension flick, this lags into, what feels like, padding.
Characters are unsympathetic, so one might not care less about them.

Machete - 2010 - 6/10

After a betrayal from a corrupt supervisor, after his wife is murdered.
Ex-Mexican police officer Machete now works itinerant labor in Texas.
Where, again, he is conned into an operation, little more than a setup.
After so many mainstream films, I had written Rodriguez off as riding the Hollywood gravy train.
Most of those releases were hits, production slick as can be.
Machete feels like a return to roots, and casting Danny Trejo is inspired.
Quote to live by, “Machete don’t text.” So say we all.

The film MEGAN 2.0 is just as good as the original if not better. It brings some much needed heart to the series and is a masterpiece!

A Widow’s Game - 2025 - 6/10
AKA - La Viuda Negra

The grieving widow, finding solace through clubbing.
And playing pop the weasel with several comforters.
Actually, Maje had been catting around before the marriage … ooh … and during.
Husband stabbed, now she receives a widow’s allowance.
Well, he was old. 36. Maje was 26. Hot. And liked doing that thing.
Police investigation. Somewhat predictable, a shade too long.
Based on true events, however.
English subtitles = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3359589

Under The Skin - 2013 - 6/10

Extraterrestrial arrives on Earth, cloaks itself as human female.
Uses sex as a way of delving into and comprehending humanity.
Mating, however, does not go so well for the males.
Difficult to tell what the alien is about.
Reconnaissance? Crash survivor? Turista?
The “woman” moves almost at random from one encounter to the next.
Scarlett Johansson, fearless and remarkable in vague, confounding film.

Accidental Stars - 2023 - 5/10

Nerissa struggles with a private acting lesson.
Then her mentor inquires if this existence, her existence, is real.
Thrown off script, she is flummoxed, then fearful of a wrong answer.
Surreal Horror short, ripe with imagery, bitter best for imposters.
English subtitles = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3359588

Daylight - 1996 - 5/10

Explosion in the Hudson Tunnel traps a disparate bunch of innocents, malcontents, complainers and pompous.
Enter ex-rescue guy (Stallone), whom no one listens to.
With so many trapped characters, one can safely predict a lot of meals.
Disagree with our hero? Go off on your own? Bicker?
Yes, prepare the body bags accordingly.
Formulaic action / disaster flick, best for insomniacs or Stallone fanatics.
Sly, by the way, looks old in this, or simply haggard.

Suspense - 1913 - 6/10

“I am leaving without notice. No servant will stay in this lonesome place.”
After she departs, the homeless vagrant approaches the house.
Inside, a young mother and infant.
Pioneering film has sharp editing, excellent camera angles.
Also, early use of tri-screen.
Good mix of tension with hectic car sequences.

The Sisters Of Gion - 1936 - 6/10
AKA - Gion no Shimai // 祇園の姉妹

Two sisters still work as geishas, but the era has ended and patrons are dying off.
Or going bankrupt, which has happened to one sister’s benefactor.
His wife and daughter move away, and he opts to live off his unemployed geisha.
Sister Omocha, far more mercenary, shoves the old man out.
Then schemes and hustles to obtain a luxurious kimono, and wealthy sugar daddies.
“The way men treat us, it’s best we take as much from them as we can.”
I actually rooted for the cynical Omocha more than the soft-hearted Umekichi.

Predator: Killer Of Killers - 2025 - 5/10

Our quarry include a Viking warrior queen, a samurai / ninja duo, hotshot WWII teenager.
The Japanese section is fairly wordless and hews close to chambara.
Contrast this with our heroic teen, who suffers diarrhea of the mouth.
Truly, he is an annoying jabber jaw.
Action and style is straight up anime, energetic but nothing new. Perhaps a bit retro.
Throughout there are homages / fan-service / plagiarism of dozens of films.
A decent way to waste an hour, although one wishes producers possessed a wider imagination.

Those Glory, Glory Days - 1983 - 6/10

Julia and her girlfriends are fanatical Hotspur supporters.
Follow the team on radio, attend the matches, even the away games.
And 1961 was a glory year for Tottenham.
Acquiring tickets for the FA Cup became an absolute must!
Warm, slice of life circa of England, on the cusp of the Invasion and Swinging London.
One of the lengths: Julie wrote the team her crippled granddad was about to die and wanted tickets.
“Omigod!” my bride gasped, “I was trying to get Beatles tickets and wrote that my dad had died.”
“Did you score free seats?” I asked.
‘No, there were probably thousands of girls who used the same lie.”

Woman On The Run - 1950 - 7/10

“Your husband just witnessed a murder., only now he’s taken a powder.”
“Just like him, always running away.”
“I want you to answer a few questions about your husband.”
“I haven’t the faintest idea.”
The soured marriage, on the rocks after a handful of years.
The husband saw killing, the murderer now stalks him, while the wife refuses to help.
Nonetheless, the police stick to her like glue, while a reporter, looking for an exclusive, helps her.
Terrific Noir, once considered lost, set all over San Francisco.
Dialogue is razors and barbed wire, and the mystery packed with twists.

Real Women Have Curves - 2002 - 7/10

Strained mother / daughter relationship.
Ana, recent high school graduate longs for college, despite financial limitations.
Her mother belittles her weight, trashes her dreams, urges her to marry and make babies.
Ana gets work at the garment factory – yet nothing ever pleases her mother.
Points throughout on body image, the burden of family, bullying.
Heady emotional roller coaster.
Self image, self worth.

The film 8 Mile is a fantastic biopic of the man myth and legend Eminem! A must see for those who appreciate his gift with the word!

The Cat Creeps - 1946 - 5/10

The senator is up for reelection, but a scandal from 15 years previously has surfaced.
Which reporter should the daily rag send? Why, the lout engaged to the politician’s daughter.
No sooner do you cry, “Anchors away!” when six scheming shipmates climb a boat for a island.
Ashore, the tub is torched – and then the dying starts.
Cheapie B-film about murder and missing $200K.
Says something when Noah Berry headlines, and he was the only face I recognized.

Kiss Me Monster - 1969 - 5/10
AKA - Küss mich, Monster

Relaxing after adventures, the Red Lips are interrupted by a dying messenger.
Something about Doctor Beltran, which, well, he’s dead, let’s dump his body.
Soon enough they are recruited, coerced, hired to locate Beltran’s missing invention.
Perhaps in Abilene, or out on a remote island.
There are five (at least) different factions after this, which adds confusion.
The plot is already scatter-brained.
Spoof of Euro-Spy movies is gauche and awkward, not so funny.