Vultural

Arachnid - 2001 - 5/10

An experimental stealth fighter locates and shoots down … an alien spaceship!
Jump ahead several years, when a scientific expedition flies to a remote South Seas island.
Natives are being decimated by some sort of mysterious venom dissolving them from within.
Oh-my-God, does that mean there was a big, intelligent spider piloting that craft?
Half-baked ripoff of Predator finds a team beset by various, deadly insects.
Locations reminded me of Ramar and Jungle Jim.
You like junk food? Here’s something to watch with it.

Dearest Sister - 2016 - 6/10
AKA - Nong Hak

Nok leaves the small village for large city Vientiane to care for a distant relative, Ana.
Ana, married to Westerner Jakob, is going blind, and suffers from passive aggressive servants.
A side-effect of the failing eyesight, Ana is soon seeing the dead, and receiving messages.
Numbers, winning lottery numbers, which the poor village girl exploits for material goods.
Nok is soon snooping, eavesdropping, losing small town morals.
Yes, there are some cloudy dead souls, but this is limited Horror, more a slow burn thriller.

Nadja - 1994 - 6/10

Modern take on Dracula, actually his daughter, and this bears little resemblance to the 1936 film.
The look is Noir / Gothic, although “vampiric” scenes are pixilated.
The pixilation is overused, gets repetitive, ultimately tedious.
A Van Helsing descendant is jailed after driving a stake (finally) through Count Dracula’s heart.
Dracula’s daughter retrieves the body, then parties begin scrambling across New York.

Acting is dominated by a loose, swinging Peter Fonda and a mesmerizing Elina Löwensohn.
Back and forth, I was riveted to the screen and bored out of my mind.
Arthouse vampires, in line with Only Lovers Kept Alive.

The Norman Conquests: Round And Round The Garden - 1977 - 7/10

Final part of the trilogy, this one set in the back garden.
This opens earliest, with Tom arriving for an injured cat, then Norman, then Reg and Sarah.
One ought NOT watch this first, however, as subsequent proceedings stem from indoor incidents.
Any sympathy for Norman collapses in this outing.
Norman is an emotional huckster with a smooth lie, “I can make you happy.”

He comes off as a pathetic sleaze. One wonders at the desperation quotient of females drawn to him.
Norman is a charade, miserable himself, with radar for similar sufferers.
Ayckbourn comedy mixed with poignancy may rouse your ire.

The Norman Conquests: Living Together - 1977 - 7/10

Concurrent with events in the dining room are those within the living room.
Norman seems more subdued here, perhaps guilty over his treatment of veterinarian Tom.
Reg has devised a new board game that no one is interested in.
Less explosive than the dining room, yet one senses undercurrents of quiet despair and ennui.
These are sad people, perhaps depressed, perhaps in denial.
Save for Tom, poor thing, who simply possesses no social skills, no radar for negativity.

The Norman Conquests: Table Manners - 1977 - 7/10

Alan Ayckbourn’s comedy of manners of strained marriages.
Disappointed wives, a “kept” husband, a spinster sister who seems destined for a dullard.
Norman may be “kept” but he makes lecherous advances.
He is obnoxiously juvenile, gratingly so.
Still, never overlook the female prerogative to get soppy for fools.
This looks very much like British telly of the era. (eg: Are You Being Served?, Good Neighbors.
I found it amusingly odd to see Margo and Tom as a couple.

Unsworth, Sophia J - Silent House: And Other Strange Stories

This ought to tempt many who enjoy “strange” stories. Yes, too many books wave that shingle. “Hey, I’m strange, I’m packed with strangeness” when they are just Horror tales, supernatural yarns, ghost stories.
Unsworth seems to have found a crossing into the borderlands.

The title story flows into the cinema, Silent cinema. A house devoted to a bygone artiste, disliked by the authorities. There was a death, a murder. Later, footage from his final work goes missing. Nevertheless, the museum acts as a lodestone for tarrying memories.

“The Caller” is more about the recipient of mysterious phone calls. After all, he had purchased a vintage telephone. Pre-plastic, Bakelite. He ought to have expected the device to have a few quirks. That it may even pick up on other resonances.

One can stare at the past, inhabit old memories, resist change. “The Grey Man”, an reclusive observer, is himself seen by the homeowner. He doesn’t appear danger, a bit sad, really. Gazing, sometimes even walking up the front lawn, then too hesitant to knock. There is a longing.

“The Tall Tailoress” shares a building, an alliance, with the architect. She is the more successful, designing gowns and dresses for an elite clientele. Including royalty. He is less fortunate, as none of his elaborate designs find form. So, he takes the random side jobs. Once underway, this becomes an unsettling tale of betrayal and death.

“Woodbine” was an older country home, settling into ruin. The appraiser’s task was straightforward enough. Catalogue and value the inventory. Daunting, yet the remuneration was handsome. Plus, he could stay there rent-free for five months. Small stipulation, should he depart, for any reason, prior to the five months, he would have to pay rent for the time spent there. What could possibly force him to leave?

This is an auspicious debut, and fans of troubling stories would be well served in searching this out.

The Locked Door - 1929 - 6/10

Ann accompanies Frank to one of those offshore, floating casinos.
A classic masher, Frank attempts to get her drunk and disrobe her.
Yet an unexpected police raid catches all in the net.
Within a year Ann, married to the stuffy Lawrence, sees Frank seduce her sister-in-law.
Stodgy Talkie melodrama bogs down once we leave the casino.
Menzies sets are worth studying, and the sweeping bar seems a precursor to Shanghai Lil.
Barbara Stanwyck, barely in her twenties, is captivating.

Fatal Termination - 1990 - 6/10
AKA - Chi se da Feng Bao // 赤 色 大 風 暴

The insanity of Hong Kong cinema.
Moon Lee clutching tight to the hood of a speeding car, while a stuntman holds a kicking, screaming, terrified child by the hair!
A Lebanese terrorist needs to smuggle a crate of guns, over 1000, with a stopover in Hong Kong.
Most of the Customs agents have been bribed, save for a few righteous souls.
Police know something is afoot, but they keep getting outflanked.
Confusing plot, characters who muddle about, interspersed with action sequences.
Until the last third of the film. Then, buckle up.
The crazed car sequence above, a fight through towering shipping crates, combat between cars, helicopters, grenades, rockets.

Companion - 2025 - 6/10

Strolling the grocers, heading toward the clichéd Produce section, Iris is about to meet-cute.
With Josh, who has the charisma of a never washed gym sock.
All ain’t fair in love, however, as Iris is being set up by greedy would-be criminals.
Despite being the ultimate innocent, Iris learns right quick.
This has the workings of a good, fun thriller, but the writing is clumsy.
Way too many sections of explanations and expositions.
Scriptwriting 101 – Show, don’t tell.

redundant

Coldiron, Katharine - Plan 9 From Outer Space

Excellent, in-depth analysis of a bad film, ridiculed, scorned, yet regarded fondly.
Scene by scene, Coldiron breaks down poor scenes, incompetent dialogue, amateurish mistakes.
Ed Wood desperately wanted to make films, but he simply did not have the chops.
Time and again, the author points out where Wood could easily have salvaged a scene. But no.
For all that, she enjoys watching this film, and others from this director.
She has no use for Hollywood formula, tentpoles, white bread, similar to my own tastes.
One point struck me, Plan 9 has NEVER been shown in Wood’s intended aspect ratio, which would have cropped boom mics, tops of sets, other errors.
An enjoyable read for those who have a taste for “bad cinema”, and delight in being surprised.

Thank you.
I backed my gifs to Postimage just in case.
All have been stored in cloud sites for years.
Finding reliable 3rd party file hosting, there’s the problem.
I’ve been with Tinypic, Photobucket, Google (sites RIP), Dropbox (workaround, which I suspect will close one day).
Some members hotlink existing images, which regard as balls. It’s lazy, the images often humongous, and those might disappear in a breath.

I appreciate your phrase, “Hopefully the UK Govt will see some sense …” which made me laugh.
Sense? From governments national, regional, local?
And do you believe in leprechauns, little boy?
The world is mad.

Owing to problems with UK regulations, Imgur has stepped away from Britain.
Several forums have already requested members no longer post images from there.
Any thoughts from the Top Hands?
I only have 11 images linking there, all gifs.

Linda - 1973 - 6/10

Oh, she has her claws in him, dug in tight.
Not only did Linda murder Jeff’s rich wife, but she also framed her own husband, Paul.
Paul either does the time or hangs, while Linda and Jeff live happy.
Pretty good TV Noir, over reliant on Ed Nelson.
John McIntire almost steals the film as the crafty defense attorney.
The real draw, however, is Stella Stevens, who was simply born too late for classic Noir.
Vixen Stella makes a coaxing femme fatale.

Another one to add is Fawesome (https://fawesome.tv). Similar to Tubi.
Thanks for reminding me of Pluto; I tend to forget that site.

In a Nutshell - 2025 - 6/10

The commission is to recreate a horrific murder site in a dollhouse.
Emma has been working at it, a perfectionist. Right down to the tiniest details.
The tiniest being a creepy sigil painted on the wall. Is that blood?
Effective Horror short builds to a brutal release.

Murder In Sarlat - 2017 - 6/10
AKA - Meurtres à Sarlat

Clues include references to ancient feuds between peasants and aristocrats.
Oh, and a big clue jutting from the chest.
The paired investigators apparently had an anonymous fling a few years earlier.
So he, a wad of insecurities, starts whining, wondering if he was unmemorable.
This was unnecessary, as the mystery, the history, the suspects, are all fine.
Ignore the forced romance, and focus on the slithering heels.

Sweet Mama - 1930 - 6/10

Goldie, member of the burlesque troupe, is stranded when she receives word her boyfriend is arrested.
She races back to New York, only to find Jimmy has already been sprung.
By his boss, nightclub owner and racketeer, who likes withdrawing money from banks.
Twist on a common trope, Goldie is determined to rescue her man.
Lively Pre-Code trots merrily from beginning to end.
Short film, under an hour, owing to most songs being cut after audiences hollered “Enough already!”.
Alice White captivates, others hit and miss, the gangster undercurrent adds an angle.

Apple Cider Vinegar - 2025 - 7/10

Quasi-true retelling of Belle Gibson, health influencer.
She had terminal brain cancer, but survived it. Incredible!
How? Good food, exercise, New Age medicines.
Once online, once with her own book and web app, she garnered millions of followers.
And – surprise – she reaps financial windfalls.
Hucksters and frauds extend back to cavemen.
Short series manages to be funny and infuriating, based on a true con artist.
For trusting souls who hope YouTube health videos will cure those ailments, here’s your guru.

Catling, Brian - A Mystery Of Remnant And Other Absences

His previous book, Munky, I never understood. The characters, the narrative, the “mystery”.
The one provides an incisive prologue by Victor Rees. What to look for in Catling’s writing, how to grasp his intent better. Much is made of Catling’s theme of the hollowness of it all.

There are a handful of stories in this, along with fragments and prose poems. Poetry, whether rhyming or prose, no longer stirs me. Add music and I might enjoy it.

“Heart Of The Forest” opens with the impoverished artist, once brimming with talent. Greatest was predicted. Until he chased the muse deeper and deeper. A subtle story, and a second read will help.

An elaborate extension of a Poe classic, “Further Facts In The Case Of M. Valdemar”, leads us past the last breath, suggesting the blinders of medical experts. The experiment taken too far.

The longest, and most satisfying story far and away, is “A Pendon Parva Ghost”. This opens with a mummified heart, which someone consumes. The tale told by the erudite man, a self-styled guru of sorts, ever trawling for new disciples. In this outing, a drives a handful to a remote village, then into an obscure museum. Where, on display, is a labor of love. A marvelous contrast of surface and substance.

Concluding is an afterword by Iain Sinclair, again dissecting and interpreting our author.
At the back are story notes = extremely helpful.
I did not enjoy this book.

Final Destination: Bloodlines - 2025 - 7/10

Aww, man. And the day had been going so well, too.
Who would have guessed such a small thing would have dire consequences?
Not only for Iris, in the middle of the conflagration, but for her family down the line.
Major reboot of a franchise I had lost interest in.
The Rube Goldbergs in this are cleverly thought out, well executed.
While not a comedy, the humor here is pitch black appropriate.
Tony Todd has a nice role in this, his final appearance in the series.

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.

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.

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.