Vultural

Violent Rome - 1975 - 6/10
AKA - Roma Violenta

After bus hijackers kill a passenger for loose change, Betti and his team crack down.
A bank robbery results in even more mano a mano violence.
Ultimately, the inspector joins forces with a vigilante group.
You got it, this plot bounces more than a monkey given a bag of cocaine-laced Tootsie Rolls.
Exciting, very pulpy, dripping with sadism and vengeance.
This jump-started the career of Maurizio Merli, who played a fistful of tough cops until the end.

Moonshine - 1918 - 6/10

There’s riches in them thar hills, ‘specially swishing in them home brewed jugs.
Revenooers Fatty and Buster summon reinforcements (I reckon 50 outta that Ford).
For all that, Fatty gets captured! ‘Cept, imprisonment proves a lush life.

Fatty gets the best lines, Buster dazzles with the stunts.
Two-reeler skedaddles along, has its moments.

A Pure Formality - 1994 - 7/10
AKA - Una Pura Formalità

Police find the man walking a lonely road in the middle of a downpour.
No papers, no excuses why he is out. They detain him at the station and await the inspector.
Follows, a lengthy interrogation of Onoff, the famous novelist.
Whose answers mix lies, mistakes, flashbacks, and quotes from his books.
Difficult to ascertain whether he is devious or clouded by alcohol and trauma.
Polanski and Depardieu spar back and forth in claustrophobic, psychological thriller.
Slow going at times, but enjoyable for the acting, as well as the sodden interior.

Midnight Mary - 1933 - 6/10

Sentencing begins and Mary is secluded in a chamber with the bailiff.
There, she flashbacks to the progression of her life, the route to the hangman.
A young child, orphaned early, drawn into a bad crowd.
Even the promise of a good soul redeeming her twists sadly.
Never much of a Loretta Young fan myself, she is all but irresistible in this.
Taboo filled Pre-Code, makes a good pairing with Baby Face (1933).

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The Master And Margarita - 2024 - 7/10
AKA - Mастер и Mаргарита

Sprawling adaptation of Bulgakov’s novel.
The writer suffers a bad week. His play on Pilate is canceled. Then he is kicked from the writer’s guild.
Girlfriend Margarita, mistress / muse, his only faithful ally, encourages him to write a novel.
In it, Woland, the Devil, comes to Moscow to expose the hypocrisy of the literati.
Since the CCCP is an atheistic society, they should not believe in God nor the Devil.
But lo, the machinations of evil run wild with laughable results.
The writer, meanwhile, begins to mix fiction with his own situation (not uncommon, I fear).
Heady cinema, with multiple layers.
Surprised this was made during the current Russian government.

The Saint In London - 1939 - 6/10

Templar is approached by a government friend and asked to investigate one Mr Lang.
Soon turns out Lang has his hands in all sorts of nasty pies.
Early on, Simon (suave George Sanders) hires a valet whose last place of residence was San Quentin.
Also a female admirer, determined to help.
Unlike a lot of private eye flicks, Templar here relies on his support team (who are not mere comic relief).
The police likewise are pretty sharp, as are the villains, especially Mr Lang.

The Vampire Of Düsseldorf - 1965 - 6/10
AKA - Le Vampire de Düsseldorf

There is a serial killer prowling the streets, so the young ladies feel safe with a handsome escort.
Except, after one is safely home, he asks the other female to go to the midnight park.
Where, it turns out, he suffers deadly impulses, and carries a knife.
He is also a steady regular at the Eldorado cabaret, where the sexy Anna arouses his desire.

Based on Peter Kürten, this well captures the shaky Weimar era.
Seedy clubs, economic and political strife, casual violence from the SA.
One establishment featured numbered table phones for assignations (similar to Berlin’s Resi).
Moody cinema, with a mannered performance by Robert Hossein that may not suit all tastes.

Isztambul - 2011 - 6/10

“Our marriage was not working anyway,” says Professor János.
After he moved out and shacked up with a 20-year-old student.
Abandoned wife Katalin suffers a breakdown, then hitches a ride out of Budapest.
Eventually, makes her way to Istanbul, where she rents a cheap room and settles herself.
Character study of someone trying to regain equilibrium in a change of environment.
For those seeking travel porn, Budapest is barely shown, and Istanbul locations avoid tourist spots.
Quiet film that, refreshingly, makes a lot of unexpected turns.

Boston Blackie And The Law - 1946 - 5/10

During Blackie’s annual Thanksgiving magic show inside the woman’s prison, an escape occurs!
Of course, ex-con Blackie is suspected and taken downtown by the police.
He must free himself, find the missing felon, and figure out the reason why she jumped months before her parole.
As always, Chester Morris charms his way along, and even sidekick Runt has a beefy role.
Police, however, are reincarnated Keystone Kops. Not 10 IQ points between the lot.
They exist for comedy only, and moronic comedy at that.
Not one of the better examples of this series.

Yours Unfaithfully - 2016 - 6/10

The picture perfect marriage, Stephen and Anne, are envied, and in a rut.
He suffers writers block, for which his wife suggests he have a fling with her friend, Diana.
Very modern, downright continental, except as the affair lengthens, jealousy grows.
Brittle table comedy comes across as arch at times, sophisticates uncomfortable with feelings.
Both females display close lipped, “polite” smiles.
Performers seem self-conscious throughout.
English subtitles = https://subsource.net/subtitle/yours-unfaithfully-2021/english/10169884

Between Land And Sea - 2016 - 6/10

Lahinch, County Clare, Ireland. The intrepid leap into the surf from the rocky shoals.
The ride back, approaching cliffs and boulders will require skill.
Surfing community in Ireland has grown and this doc examines a lot of players.
Several men, now with families, realize their time on big waves is closing.
Shot over a few years, we watch child Nora go from toddler to attending school.
This goes deeper than most surf porn, the interviewees (except one) more thoughtful.

Flying Saucers Over Hollywood: The ‘Plan 9’ Companion - 1992 - 6/10

Labor of love documentary / celebration of Ed Wood’s monsterpiece.
Sure, it reminds one of a fan doc, yet be thankful participants were interviewed before they were gone.
Locations are visited, including the derelict Quality Studio, cemetery, Tor’s house.
Better organized than any film Wood made, yet this is still sporadic and meandering.
Over and over, the focus wanders away from Plan 9 onto players or oddball interviewees.
Perhaps little new for obsessives who have read or researched all matters Wood.
Breezy, informative, wistful to see and hear Maila (Vampira), Gregory, Conrad, shoot, even Valda.

Plan 9 From Outer Space - 1957 - 4/10

What an enjoyable disaster.
Aliens revive the recent dead to show stupid, stupid Earthlings who’s going to call the shots.
Mind you, they reckon not with hot-tempered fists.
Cheap sets, inept SFX, poor dialogue, bad acting, mindless editing, no narrative.
I rewatch periodically with fondness, as I realize this was a game attempt by one with limited talent.
Hardly the worst film, in that it is never boring. Confused, yes.
Give me a bad film with heart over formula dreck any day of the week.

Ed Wood - 1994 - 6/10

Career? What career? Even by Poverty-Row standards, Wood’s product was dismal.
Even indie studios have zero interest. Besides, a cross-dressing film?
Doris Wishman, Russ Meyer, they never did those. Besides, their films made money!
Nevertheless, Wood’s fountain of optimism acquires a coterie including Tor, Bela, Dolores, Lyle.
At his lowest, inspired (encouraged?) by Orson Welles, young Ed forges ahead with Plan 9.
One watches this for the amazing performances (Depp, Landau, Arquette) and sympathetic direction.
The inaccuracies are well known, but it’s hard it dislike the intent here.
It would have been easy to ridicule Wood, his output, his friends.
This never does that.

Various (Editor: Beech, Mark) - Ornithologiae

Of or pertaining to the study / observation of birds.
Another eclectic, imaginative assortment from Egaeus.

“Aberration And Essence” displays the mania of bird watchers, the obsessives forever hunting for a rare species, perhaps a new breed. Firsthand, I have witnessed a few trespass my own property.

A switched bird, akin to the cuckoo, occurs in “Ravenbaby” leading the family to a wise woman.

Mila was an outsider, unaccustomed to the ways of Leonard’s family, not least the Thanksgiving traditions, and the traditions of sharing with the departed. “The Spirit Plate” was just that, and meant for those.

Who killed cock robin? Why the sparrow, of course. “Being A True Account Of The Death And Burial Of Poor Cock Robin” brings forth all manner of witnesses in the singular courthouse. Oh, the versions we hear, and the parade of untrustworthy narrators.

Edward, with his bad heart and pills, moved to the remote village to rest, work on his painting. There was a girl there, strange creature, Edelina, tall, slim, innocent, not so innocent. “Oileán na nÉan” draws us into the transgressive nature of Edward’s muse, with a whispered backstory.

He thought it was a purse, it looked like a purse. There would be money, and Chess, homeless flotsam, was freezing to death. Only it was not a curse. “The Leather Cormorant” was more a curse.

A sweeping variety of stories, settings and themes. Loads of engravings. For the receptive, poetry.
As of 2025, still in print from the publisher.

Red Skelton Hour - 1954 - 5/10

Specifically “Dial B For Brush” season three finale with Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr, and Vampira.
Red, dimwitted door-to-door brush salesman, knocks at the home of a mad scientist.
Dr. Lugosi, along with his half brother, who is half werewolf.
The scientist needs an empty brain for a muddled experiment.
Wasp-waist Vampira plays the drop-dead femme interested in a quickie canoodle.
Of course this is ridiculously silly, yet Bela seems to be enjoying himself.
Red must have known how prickly Lugosi was about ad-lib and improvisation.

The Lathe Of Heaven - 1980 - 7/10

Akin to the “The Monkey’s Paw”. In a future time, highly overpopulated, George suffers dreams.
Only his dreams alter reality.
His psychiatrist, Dr. Haber, something between a meddler and a martinet, exploits this.
Remake society, build a better world.
Except there are always flaws in improvements.
Heady, intellectual SciFi (SpecFi, actually) has minimal budget but far-reaching concepts.
Some locations were the same as those in Logan’s Run.

Breakfast:
Toast (wheat)
Bowl of chopped fruit
Banana
Pot of tea

Secrets Of A Secretary - 1931 - 6/10

On a drunken whim, heiress Helen marries caddish Frank, disowned by his family.
Abruptly, her father dies and Helen discovers the Crash had left him – and her – penniless.
So, she takes a job as social secretary (AKA - personal assistant) to a wealthy family.
Where she soon attracts a Lord, and finds racketeers in the background.
Pre-Code potboiler enhanced with a young Claudette Colbert and the mellifluous Herbert Marshall.
Depression romantic froth, elements might have contributed to My Man Godfrey (1936).

After Love - 2020 - 6/10

Ahmed comes home, sits down in the chair to relax, then slips into the afterlife.
Later on, wife Mary comes across bits of evidence. That her husband was a cheater, with another life in France.
She catches the ferry and travels to Marseilles, where things get complicated.
Quiet film of multiple betrayals. Also denial and curiosity.
Joanna Scanlan and Nathalie Richard carry the weight.
One, grieving and angry, the other angry because Ahmed has not arrived to help her relocate.
Dialogue is minimal. Instead, we watch characters react, think, try to understand.

Asakusa Kid - 2021 - 7/10
AKA - Asakusa Kiddo // 浅草キッド

Early 1970’s, young Takeshi Kitano starts working at the failing France-Za club in Asakusa.
He’s there to learn from Fukami, one of comedy’s kings.
Time has moved away from his skits, however, replaced by manzai (straight man / funny man duos).
The closest I can categorize France-Za club is burlesque. Striptease, skits, jokes, songs.
Fukami Senzaburo’s narrative is every bit as compelling as Kitano’s.
For Westerners, us who mostly know Kitano through his cinema, this is a revealing look at his comedy.
Also, a loving look back at the passing of an age.
Do yourself a favor, avoid dubbed, learn to read subs.

Golden Years - 2022 - 6/10
AKA - Die Goldenen Jahre

Aged 65, Peter is handed his retirement balloon and shown the door.
At home, wife Alice is now ready to live! Travel, meet people, go!
While Peter just wants to stay home. Fact is, they no longer have much in common.
They board a Mediterranean cruise, where the marriage begins to shred.
Bittersweet comedy of the unpredictable second act.
Divergent expectations, plans for the future, and basic incompatibility.
Surprising turns help this, as well as local color in the ports of call.
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3363480

Get Your Man - 1927 - 6/10

Mere children, young Robert and infant Simone are betrothed by their fathers.
17 years later, Robert is wandering Paris and keeps bumping into heiress Nancy.
“It must be Fate!” she finally exclaims.
He is engaged, honor is at stake, yet she determines to break that, and have him.
Breezy RomCom is a mere showpiece for Clara Bow.
She is on fire in this, flirting shamelessly with the camera, expressive, effervescent.
Missing reels are filled with inter-titles and still photos.