logo Sign In

A few reviews . . (film or TV) — Page 181

Author
Time

Hot Enough For June - 1964 - 6/10

Aspiring writer Nicholas, on the dole, lands a job with a glass firm.
Which is actually a front for MI6, now sending ignorant amateurs into the field.
In this case, Prague 1964, still very much behind the Iron Curtain.
Even as an innocent, our faux spy (Dirk Bogard) catches on quick.
And tumbles for his Czech minder, Sylva Koscina.
This starts as a satire, gradually grows more serious, though the tone stays light.

Author
Time

Arctic Circle - 2018 - 6/10
AKA - Ivalo

A sexually transmitted disease breaks out in northern Finland.
Mating is OK, hosts are OK, but pregnancies turn into spontaneous, bloodied abortions.
If it spreads, extinction of humanity on a mass scale within generations.
Scientists and law enforcement work in tandem to track down and isolate carriers.
For a cure? They need to find patient zero.
Potentially gripping thriller is weighed down with too many characters and side plots.
Minor characters are more like cameos, several of the breakaway plots simply vanish.
I suspect writers had enough material for a great 6-part series, but the show was 10 episodes.
Padding, and obvious padding at that.

Author
Time

Behind Stone Walls - 1932 - 5/10

The dinner party was breaking up anyway.
The District Attorney (aspiring Governor) is taking wife Esther to theatre.
Until the courthouse phones, saying only HE can handle an extradition.
With that, Esther slips off to play hide the sausage with the best friend.
Grade-C Pre-Code is loaded with sleaze.
Adultery, murder, blackmail (financial and sexual), and sly courtroom deals.
Acting is stilted, directing stagey, dialogue a river of pauses and gushes.

Author
Time

On Becoming A Guinea Fowl - 2024 - 7/10

Driving home from a costume party, Shula sees a body in the road.
Her Uncle Fred – dead. She phones her father, who is drunk but still begs for money.
A cousin appears, waving a bottle and bombed out of her mind.
Police eventually take charge, and Shula goes home to settle herself.
Until an auntie quartet arrives, wailing, hollering, issuing demands.
Why, I wonder, is professional woman Shula is still living there?
This “comedy” will play better for members of big, boisterous, nosy families.
And while the aunties may say, “We love you, our children” it becomes clear they loved Fred more.
For ostriches and those who always look the other way, avoid this.
Otherwise, an eye-opening view of Zambia.

Author
Time

’49-‘17 - 1917 - 6/10

Stifled by Eastern refinements, the Judge hankers for the wilder West of his youth.
Back when he was an original ‘49er.
He sends his young assistant to restore ghost town Nugget Notch and fill it with suitable inhabitants.
Unfortunately, by 1917, most weren’t as comfortable with shooting irons as the Judge had been.
There are a few mysteries to unravel, pardner, as well as the town cutie lusted after by the gambler.
And Jean Hersholt as Gentleman Jim steals the money, the scene, and the movie.
Fun little Silent kinda moseys along, although it barely runs an hour.

Author
Time

The Girl On The Late, Late Show - 1974 - 6/10

So whatever happened to Carolyn Parker?
Big star a few decades earlier, now disappeared.
So wonders the producer of a New York morning show, who flies out to Los Angeles.
Mixed concoction of Noir, TV formula and laziness.
The premise is solid, but the plotting, the writing, lacks edge.
Stars in cameos include Van Johnson, Walter Pidgeon, Yvonne De Carlo.
Noir heavyweights John Ireland and Gloria Graham are given mere moments.
While a failed attempt, this is worth tracking down by Noir fans.

Author
Time

Litsid - 2018 - 5/10
AKA - Madame K // Whores

So, in your wildest dreams, imagine Hallmark decides to create a series about a brothel.
Filled with lots of young, attractive females who love their work, giggle and laugh, and share happy moments.
Complicating matters: this is Estonia, 1939, on the eve of World War II.
Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union are squeezing the small nation.
Meanwhile, the house is kinda / sorta busy with well-dressed officers, glib politicians, and athletes.
The ladies are all smiles, historic accuracy – unsure, the storyline pure puffery.
Followed by a spinoff series, which I have no interest in.

Author
Time
 (Edited)

The Last Shark - 1981 - 5/10
AKA - L’ultimo Squalo

The annual windsurfing regatta is scheduled for the weekend.
Meanwhile, a great white has arrived in the neighborhood, and it has a taste for long pig.
The mayor and local skippers take precautions, but this is one wily fish.
It can tear things up, it can build, as well. It’s big, it’s fast, and it is not anorexic.
Blatant ripoff of Jaws proves laugh out action after a lethargic start.
For viewers who slow down to gape at car accidents, there are piles of unhappy meals.