A few reviews . . (film or TV) — Page 159

Vernon Subutex - 2019 - 6/10

Opening flash of his 90’s heyday, when Vernon ran Revolver, a trendy Parisian record shop,
Wild customers, camaraderie, sex, drugs, good times!
Bump a few decades, no more music store, broke, Vernon is evicted and out on the streets.
A chronic mooch, a list of Facebook “friends”, he possesses an easy charm despite the growing dishevelment.
Then there are the tapes, left to him by a deceased, fallen musician.
Nine half-hour episodes that, I gather, barely scratch the surface of an influential novel trilogy.
The framework resembles a quest, the grail a testament.
Lightweight adaptation.

Blink Twice - 2024 - 6/10

Frida and Jess, wait-staff for an exclusive, A-list gala, miraculously catch a VIP’s eye.
They are invited back to his private island for gourmet meals, endless sun, designer drugs.
Hallucinogens or narcotics, with spinning side effects, compounded by the massive blunts everyone tokes.
Island servants, mocking and unsettling, refer to Frida as the red rabbit.

Slow burn thriller will test the patience of some during the leisurely first half.
Compensations include stylish photo compositions, and a soured fairytale undercurrent.
The finale, while not clichéd, does feel contrived, and I wish it had been better thought out.

Sorceress - 1974 - 3/10

A couple decide to fleece his poker friends.
She pretends to be a fortune teller, then helps the men enact fantasies.
After filming various stuff-the-muffin encounters, extortion time.
Andrea (♪ More, More, More ♪) True rassles in one section. Sonny Landham another.
Dreary, boring, with nary a whiff of magic.

Another Life - 2001 - 5/10

Edith is wowed and wooed by shipping agent Percy.
He dodges Great War duty by feigning injury, does she care?
By the 1920’s their marriage soured, 27-year-old Edith meets the 18-year-old Frederick.
Our couple launch a torrid affair, heightened by her wild romantic fantasies.
The upshot? Murder most foul.
What ought to be a murder mystery is overblown kitsch.
Perhaps the director was trying to show Edith’s addled mental state.
He failed. Angel (2007) carried that off better, although many disliked Ozon’s film, too.
Based on Edith Thompson, whose real story is more compelling.
English (AI generated) subs = https://subscene.cam/subtitle/3350844

Kanashibara - 2007 - 6/10

Young male grieves in the basement, dreams tormented by the death of his girlfriend.
Who may – or may not – be physically / spiritually there.
Damaged look works to exacerbate the nocturnal state.
Dreamlike short of haunted possession.

Birthday Girl - 2001 - 5/10

OK, most of us receive assorted emails from hot Ukrainian girls, or Russian babes wanting you!
Most of us will mark SPAM, click DELETE, then search for honest relationships at Pornster.
Not our mild-mannered bank clerk, who accepts the Russian bride offer.
Said bride arrives with her male cousin and his male friend.
I’m barking at the screen, “Dude, that cousin is Vincent Cassel! Run! He is up to no good.”
The “comedy” is lame, romance lukewarm, thrills predictable.
For a better Nicole Kidman thriller, check out Malice (1993).

If others are not allowed to post their reviews in here I will delete this via edit.

The TV series The Penguin(2024), based on the Batman villain of the same name, is a tragedy that depicts the fine line between light and darkness, between self-determination and destruction. This is not for the faint of heart.

JackNapier said:

If others are not allowed to post their reviews in here I will delete this via edit.

No problem, Jack. The initial post, and part 01 of the ongoing index, has a mission statement:

This is a thread for your cinema or television reviews.
Anyone can post reviews in this thread. I am neither possessive nor territorial.
If you viewed a movie or TV show and want to discuss it, great. Mainstream - indie - foreign - doc - cult.
Please try to relate what you liked or disliked about the film or series. Details.
Note: My own scribbles seldom focus on popular flicks. Thank you. Good luck.

Post away, friend. Stretch out!

Au Revoir Les Infants - 1987 - 8/10

Amidst World War II, the French Catholic boarding school seems immune.
The priests, however, have quietly sheltered a few Jewish boys.
Being children, somewhat innocent and unwary, they lack guile for secrecy.
Power Louis Malle film, based on an incident in his childhood.
A quiet film, keenly observant of daily slights and treacheries.
Casual betrayals and justifications.
The ordinariness of the day to day cloaks a chilling, wartime reality.
Masterclass cinema.

Murder In Cantal - 2023 - 6/10
AKA - Meurtres dans le Cantal

The disagreeable owner of a gourmet restaurant is murdered while fishing.
Prime suspect? His less talented son, who stands to inherit, and who is a classic lecher.
Not to worry, everyone around despised both men, so police have numerous hot leads.
Decent procedural loaded with poor alibis and pleasant lies.
A subplot involves a deceased child – waste of time.
Another subplot involves ailing senior parents – likewise superfluous.

Joy House - 1964 - 6/10
AKA - Les Félins

Probably not Marc’s best idea, banging the mob boss’s girl.
A whack crew after his head (literally), has him briefly, before a quick escape.
Even sheltering in a church soup kitchen proves perilous.
Until two wealthy American females hire him as chauffeur.

There are agendas. One sizes up Marc. Height, weight, hair, build.
The younger model studies his trousers.
Gangsters, a petty crook, treacherous females, a labyrinthine manor.
Great Gothic mystery with layer upon layer of deception and silken control.

Siren: Erotic Ghost - 2004 - 5/10
AKA - Shin Yôjo Densetsu: Seirên // サイレン：エロティックゴースト

The heist went better than planned, with a sweet haul.
Enroute to the hideaway, the men rendezvous for supplies, except the female sees the cash.
They kidnap her. She’s cute, and will provide jollies while they wait.

Until the thieves begin dropping dead.
And cute or not, she can drain the wick from the stick.
Cheap V-film is predictable, spotty acting, shoddy photography.
English subs = https://subscene.cam/subtitle/3351082

Woman Of The Hour - 2023 - 7/10

“Alrighty now! After a few questions Miss Sheryl, you’ll choose your date. We won’t tell you that one of our contestants just happens to be serial killer Rodney Alcala. Our bad, oops.”

The meat of this Dating Game thriller is Rodney, photographer, charmer, ladies man.
One by one, females get taken by the soft-spoken praise. Strokes.
Chronology bounces a little, but there are always dates posted.
Sheryl’s story is more fictionalized, and pushes a misogyny message.
97% of men in this are lechers, liars, enablers.
Film entertaining, despite the preachiness.

In the mid 70’s, I drove to Los Angeles and enrolled at Cal State. I was on my own, poor and needed income. The student jobs center had various listings. Including contestant on “The Dating Game”. I couldn’t believe it!
I declined, although I gather plenty of theatre majors signed up. (Northridge was a TV feeder school.)
Instead, my first job was at a liquor store. It wasn’t “The Dating Game”, but it was memorable.

Dredd - 2012 - 6/10

Our dystopian future, the herd packed in squalid cities.
Crime is dealt with harshly by “Judges” who also act as jury and executioner.
A brutal slaying occurs in Peach Tree highrise.
Judge Dredd is dispatched with a rookie, one with psychic abilities.
The movie proves to be an extended, glorified shooter game.
Dredd ascends, killing a multitude of baddies.
Pretty good for what it is (far superior to the Stallone effort).
Producers let the DP go wild and it shows; this is a stylish actioner.
Expect blood.

Finding Neverland - 2004 - 7/10

James Barrie, enduring another theatrical flop, wonders about his career … and marriage.
He strikes up a friendship with a youngish widow and especially her four children.
Observing the children at play, he is inspired to write “Peter Pan”.
Low-key story benefits from quiet performances by Depp and Winslet.
Later, I chatted with a few Barrie fans who were appalled at the historical inaccuracies.
Perhaps the less one knows, the better the enjoyment.
Endearing family film.

The film The Fred Clause is an underrated and unexpectedly good movie, definitely worth a watch.

Tea War: The Adventures Of Robert Fortune - 2001 - 6/10

This may be of more interest to hardcore* tea drinkers.
By the 1840’s , the English were avid fanatics of the stuff, but felt restricted by China’s virtual monopoly.
Mr Fortune was sent to study techniques and collect as many tea plant varieties as possible.
He circumvented officials, inspectors, rules, laws, and customs, bringing a trove to India.
The documentary states this was one of the greatest thefts in history.
Unmentioned, were than most of the Chinese plants were unsuited to India and died.
Moreover, English preference was for brisk tea, meaning astringent or bitter. With milk.
Not Lapsang Suchong or Keemun.

Tea preference test. * Hardcore types answer 2.
1 – Herb tea or flowers 2 – Tea leaves.
1 – Teabags 2 – Loose tea leaves
1 – Mug or cup 2 – Really, please. Kettle, pot, cups and saucers.
1 – Sugar with milk or lemon 2 – Black

Last Warning - 1928 - 6/10

During the climactic moment, the lead actor and owner is struck dead.
Curtain lowered, the audience confused, the police arrive.
Whereupon the body disappears, and is never found.
The building is now cursed, and lies dormant for years.
Until a new producer decides to revive the doomed play, “The Snare”.
Lively shocker is full bore Gothic, undermined by melodramatic, hammy acting.

Blind Lucky - 2015 - 6/10

Yes, with the right kit, you can jack any car you want.
Even one that belongs to a psychotic, vindictive criminal.
Who, in short order, has you suspended by chains.
And who opens up a new world of pain.
Nasty little short. Proof of concept for a feature.

Libido - 1965 - 6/10

Young boy Christian observes his father and blonde female in the mirror-lined pleasure room.
Just before dad murders her, then commits suicide.
Two decades of psycho-therapy later, Christian stands to inherit a wealthy estate.
Three days before that, he chooses to spend time in the haunted manor.
With his wife, always hovering, soothing, reassuring and reminding.
His guardian, who stands to maintain his status should Christian be institutionalized.
With the guardian’s oversexed, kittenish wife, provocative and rapacious.
This borrows heavily from Diabolique (1955), yet is a tight, claustrophobic thriller.
Innuendo laced dialogue includes = “She took your big piece with her little piece.”

Night Watch - 1973 - 6/10

Yes, it is raining. Pouring down hard, actually.
Nonetheless, Ellen spies a corpse in the empty house.
Sitting in a chair, throat slashed.
Police arrive. Body, what body? Conclude Ellen is overt-anxious.
And she is overwrought. Her husband, best friend, and doctor want to place her in “a home”.
Roiling thriller pushed by Elizabeth Taylor’s neurotic performance.
Probably overlooked, and worth watching.
English subs = https://subscene.cam/subtitle/3351397

The Maid - 2005 - 6/10
AKA - 女佣

Rosa arrives from the Philippines to Singapore.
Auspiciously, it is the seventh month.
The Gates of Hell yawn open, spirits with a grievance emerge.
Rosa’s employers try to explain, try to warn her.
The girl is ignorant, however, makes mistakes, offending the ghosts.
Packed with jump scares (that soon grow tiresome) and wooden acting.
Script boasts a few twists, will be OK for those who sample different horror themes.
English subs = https://subscene.cam/subtitle/3351398

Conflict - 2022 - 7/10

“If a man’s got an open mind, he can’t keep anything in it.”
“… there’s one great incentive to human endeavour at work in the world today, that’s the incentive of the upper ten to keep things as they are.”
Heady, drawing room play set in the 1920’s, as the upstart Labour Party challenges the Tories.
Disparities referenced include class, wealth, gender.
This is post Great War England, pre-Depression, although there is mention of nations building armaments.
Lady Dare has a steady fella in Ronnie, but theirs is habit, not passion.
Then there is Tom, ex-schoolmate of Ronnie, whose pride and family were shattered by the War.
In time, the two become rivals in the constituency.
Very modern play, still resonates today, as our own disparities continue to widen and deepen.

Turkish Detective - 2024 - 7/10

Young detective Suleyman transfers from London to Istanbul.
Where he finds, police handle things differently.
Exotic police procedural.
Series of two-part mysteries, that are anything but routine.
Connecting the series is an arc of Suleyman’s girlfriend, violently attacked in Istanbul.
Domestic affairs I could take or leave, but they seem to be a fixture now.

Night Angel - 1990 - 3/10

Out of the oozing swamp she emerges. Then, into negligees and onto power brokers.
Grade-D erotic thriller overlaid with succubus tropes, masked with a Lilith persona.
She slithers her way to Siren Magazine where she intends to pervert a mass readership to wickedness.
Actually, my encapsulation makes more sense than this inept attempt.
No one can act (why is Karen Black in this?), relying on facial grimaces, smirks and double-takes.
Low-light, softcore romping, latex prosthetics, and a script penned by a poodle.
Near the conclusion, there is a whacked out demonic orgy with effects and costumes that is imaginative.
If you must. English subs = https://subsource.net/subtitle/night-angel-1990/english/10057734