Vultural

Danny Collins - 2015 - 6/10

Al Pacino as aging / elder pop music icon.
Think Neil Diamond or Sir Cliff.
For a birthday gift, his manager (a very dry, Christopher Plummer) finds a vintage fan letter that somehow never made it into Danny’s hands.
From one John Lennon. What do you think of that, Danny Collins?
This has a profound impact, as the singer wonders how much of the artist he sacrificed in pursuit of popularity and wealth.
He sets about getting his life in order. Writing his own songs - reaching out to his estranged son.
Feel good territory, but not too over the top.
I am not a Pacino fan, but he is better here than in most of his films.
His usual shouting and yelling mannerisms to get his points across are absent in this one.

Nostalghia - 1983 - 7/10

Joint Italian/Russian film of Russian poet living in Italy, researching a book on an obscure Russian composer.
He daydreams about the wife he left behind. Or is she dead?
He and his translator ponder the village idiot, a rambling old man and his dog.
Rain pours most of the time, everything seems shrouded in fog.
The beautiful blonde Italian translator wants to bear a baby. Maybe. Perhaps she laments an abortion.
Multiple meanings abound, as do veiled narratives.
Positive reviewers noted one needs to watch this numerous times to appreciate. Negative reviews point out how dull and ponderous this seems.
This is not one I “enjoyed,” and I struggle to “appreciate” it.
Thirty years ago, I paid good money to see arthouse fare, only to exit afterward thinking myself shallow and stupid.
Now, older and more jaded, I still consider myself shallow, struggling to penetrate the obliqueness of Tarkovsky’s vision.

Denial - 2016 - 7/10

Drama of Holocaust writer, Deborah Lipstadt, vs Holocaust denier, David Irving.
Fairly accurate retelling of the seeds of the conflict, legal strategies, then the case before the High Court.
Weisz as Lipstadt, irritating throughout. Impulsive, easily baited, rubber-necking during proceedings.
Her portrayal feels “based on”. Writer’s heavy hand or directorial flourish.
Other than her version, everyone else excelled.

I had finished with an extremely lengthy “revisionist” documentary so was familiar with Irving and many of his assertions.
Unsettling notion that history can be utterly rewritten, especially as society loses cognitive function.

Tight Spot - 1955 - 6/10

Middle-aged jailbird Sherry (a wise-cracking Ginger Rogers) is given a chaperoned furlough from the slammer.
The pitch? How’d she like to testify against an old associate?
Oh yeah, others who had tried, had been whacked, despite police protection.
Edward G. Robinson, Brian Keith, even Lorne Greene as a ferocious crime boss, everyone seems to coast.
Perhaps the script is to blame.
Proceedings feel contrived, and the ending(s) had me going from “really?” to “please!”.

The Diplomatic Pouch - 1927 - 6/10
AKA - Sumka Dipkuryera

Silent Soviet espionage thriller set in the Soviet’s version of England, then afloat the steamer, Victoria.
A diplomatic bag, meant for the Bolsheviks, is being furiously sought by Police Inspector White
(undoubtedly a word play on the Reds enemy, the White faction).

Cat n mouse struggles play out inside the confines of cramped and claustrophobic ship.
The villains of the piece, the British secret police, will stop at nothing to intercept the documents.
In their way are the stalwart, Soviet seaman. Comrades united against capitalist dogs.

The first twenty minutes of the film are considered lost, though you can pick up the narrative easily enough.
Imaginative, expressionistic camera work (director Dovzhenko plays the stoker), energetic music score.
Preachy and dated, but taut and enjoyable, nevertheless.

Note: The film is easy enough to locate, but subtitles are another matter.
Most subs are for the 70 minute film, though all existing prints are 50 minutes.
Go here for more or less proper subtitles – https://subscene.com/subtitles/sumka-dipkuryera/

I resynced the timings, corrected grammar, spelling, and changed some words to clarify the inter-titles.
If anyone who can read Cyrillic wants to suggest an improvement, please advise.

The Tenant Of Wildfell Hall - 1996 - 6/10

Glossy three-parter of the Anne Brontë novel.
Widow moves to tiny hamlet, small son in tow. Also closet skeletons and unspoken baggage.
Village gossip quickly turns malicious and she is shunned by all save a yeoman who is attracted to her.
Secrets are shown in flashback of the horrors the widow fled from.
Most of the characters are brutish, vicious and given to vice.
This is a moral tale, with a suffering, albeit strong, female character.
Finely done, but those seeking another Pemberley, beware.

Kaleidoscope - 1966 - 6/10

Warren Beatty as wealthy guy who gambles / cheats because he can.
He takes a shine to Susannah York and shows her the town, err, the world.
The pair have zero chemistry, the largest, yet certainly not the only flaw with this film.
1966, the height of Swinging London – you wouldn’t guess that from this stodgy pot.
Filled with gambling sequences that extend too long, becoming tiresome.
Beatty, perhaps miscast in this, would strike gold in his next outing. Bonnie And Clyde.

Wild Tales - 2006 - 6/10
AKA - Relatos Salvajes

From Spain and Argentina, six films of vengeance or conflict.
Films vary considerably in quality and enjoyment, and the above is an overall score. Anthology front loaded with the best and funniest in the first half.
The opening flight cabin sequence is brilliant and laugh out loud as it develops.
The next one about a loan shark, a barely open diner, and rat poison was good.
Then two drivers dueling along a lonely stretch of highway. Great fun.

Next three less savage, with little to no humor.
Angry man vs a tow truck company.
Hit n run driver and a dead mother and infant.
Wedding reception meltdown.

First three - Yes!
Last three - You have been warned.

The Man Behind Hitler - 2006 - 7/10

Documentary on Joseph Goebbels, Nazi minster of propaganda.
Kenneth Branagh reads excerpts from Goebbels diary.
Newsreels, still photos try to “put you back” into the moment.
Extremely well done and essential for any WWII buff.

Two points I wondered about.

1. Keeping any sort of diary strikes me as risky, especially with such pointed entries.
2. The diaries survived intact!

Another thing. Goebbels was German, Branagh is British.
So what part of this “The American Experience” episode is U S of A related?

Blueprint Of Murder - 1961 - 6/10
AKA - Ankokugai no Dankon // 暗黒街の弾痕

Ratings? Ratings don’t apply to gems like this one!
Driver and mechanic are still road-testing the experimental engine.
Once perfected, it will be lighter, cheaper to manufacture, and have better fuel economy than anything else.
Meanwhile, scoundrels try to steal. A yakuza gang, a rival engine firm, an oil consortium.
Then, after one of the partners dies mysteriously, his brother appears and all hell breaks loose.

Extreme espionage actioner roars ahead in full bore overdrive.
Industrial spies, shadowy hitmen, a whispered group from Hong Kong, the police detective, an aggressive news hound, the shameless mogul, fast talking lovelies, etc …
There is enough material here for five films, packed into 70”.
The pace is frantic, your head will spin off if you try to keep track of everything.

Two of the best interludes occur at the nightclub, where a songbird croons “Nobody Knows” while three silhouetted men shift and sway behind her.
Whole film is funny and wildly over the top bonkers. 007 fans, look for Mie Hama!

Station West - 1948 - 6/10

US Army sends an undercover operative to investigate a couple of murders.
Gold is starting to stockpile in a nearby fort, the nearby town is controlled by a boss.
Action occurs in the saloon and out on the hard scrabble in this unusual Western.
Dick Powell plays the sharp tongued detective, Jane Greer the manipulative, mystery woman.
Yep, a couple of Noir icons in two fisted cowboy Noir. Oh yeah, Raymond Burr as crooked lawyer!
Fights, chases, missing bullion, fires, romance, and dark mischief packed into 80 odd minutes.

New Battles Without Honor Or Humanity: Part 03 Last Days Of The Boss - 1976 - 7/10
AKA - Shin Jingi Naki Tatakai: Kumicho Saigo no Hi
新仁義なき戦い 組長最後の日

This was it. The end, no mas, done, finished.
Final film from unrelated spinoff of the acclaimed Battles Without Honor Or Humanity series.
Fukasaku had had enough and moved on to other projects.

This follows an escalating turf war between two mob families.
Even when they try to form an agreement, too much blood has been shed.
Top bosses cannot control their underlings and the film is punctuated with shooting sprees and assassinations.
One of the best moments finds small boss Bunta Sugawara avenging the murder of his leader by going after the rival crew in heavy trucks along a winding mountain road.
The pace in this film is dizzying, with jump cuts and blurry pans.
Characters lie throughout, and many times the viewer is deliberately confused regarding characters, and the narrative itself.
This can be watched as a stand alone episode, with no familiarity with the classic series.

English subtitles = https://subscene.com/subtitles/new-battles-without-honor-and-humanity-3-bosss-last-days/english/1133433

Still Alice - 2014 - 7/10

Initially, I feared this would be another rehash of Away From Her or Amour, two other acclaimed films about women with degenerative mental decline.
Both of those felt like good-for-you broccoli stories, and I could not relate with or care about the protagonists.
For whatever reason, Still Alice was more engrossing and enjoyable.
The premise is uncomfortable, watching sections of memory and intellect slide away.
Moore disappears into her role of esteemed linguist professor who starts to have trouble remembering words.
Only caveat I might have is these were affluent individuals.
The resources and options they have are beyond half the at-risk population.
Funny, heartbreaking, but not necessarily depressing.
Interviews with creative team a very good extra.

The Voodoo Woman - 1957 - 5/10

Mix magic with science and, voilà, jungle masterpiece!
Dr. Gerard, using voodoo and Chemistry 101, attempts to create an invincible warrior.
Results ain’t working out so well.
Until, gun-toting, gold-hungry, two-faced Marilyn comes into the forbidden village.
“Aha,” thinks the scientist, ”here’s a subject with no silly qualms about killing.”
AIP cheapie, shot on soundstage, boasts Tom Conway and Touch Connors.
And Marla English, who, like any buxom starlet, never envisioned a future in awful movies.
Don’t blow past the trading post, either, where the canary (Giselle d’arc, a Yma Sumac type) sings two lounge numbers with bongo accompaniment.
Not without its charm, for those with a taste for schlock.

The Loving Story - 2011 - 7/10

Moving documentary of married couple expelled from Virginia, taking their case all the way to the Supreme Court.
Expelled in 1958 for miscegenation (ie: interracial marriage).
Overall tone is quiet. The couple seem subdued, perhaps uncomfortable around camera lenses.
Interviews with the ACLU attorneys involved both enlightening and enjoyable.
No one from the Virginia courthouse spoke.
I thought I would dislike the husband, a crew cut bricklayer, but he turned out to be quietly sympathetic.
Film dramatizations were released in 1996 and 2016.

Other Side Of The Box - 2018 - 6/10

“I wouldn’t open that if I were you,” I advise characters in the short.
Ben and Rachel, giddy with infatuation, until Shawn, Rachel’s ex, visits.
With a gift. The gift wrapped box.
Which the couple, ignoring my advice, open.
The interior is black inside, with no apparent bottom.
Should they reach down? See what is lies within?

Secret Service Of The Imperial Court - 1984 - 6/10
AKA - Gam Vee Wai // 錦衣衛

Violent, gory, and downbeat period actioner from late Shaw Brothers era.
The new emperor is preoccupied with plenty of nude girls supplied by the court eunuch.
While he is distracted, the evil eunuch (are there any other kind?) peddles influence, kills rivals, and positions himself as all-powerful.
Even the elite band of court assassins, the Brocade Guard, falls under his sway.
Except for Sergeant Zhao Bufan, who gets squeezed between duty and righteousness.
Numerous fights accompanied with geysers and severed limbs.
Plot a bit confusing, and the body count is damn near everyone in the film.
Fairly entertaining now, though when released it was considered old fashioned.
Such as - the musical sequence.
Shaw Brothers popcorn.

Don’t Breathe - 2016 - 6/10

Three twentyish burglars prowl Detroit homes.
They follow guidelines (keep the haul under $10K to avoid felony), tight timetables.
For some, it might be hard to work up sympathy for lowlifes who steal their stuff.
“Cause I’m disadvantaged!” or “Growin’ up was hard!” or “I ain’t rich like you!”
Even less sympathy when they target the Gulf War vet who lives in a forlorn neighborhood.
He’s all alone, and he’s blind.
Being thugs, they decide to hit the blind guy’s house in the middle of the night.
Course your powers of prediction are likely superior to those fools.
Acceptable home invasion thriller.
Followed by a pointless sequel.

Spectral - 2016 - 6/10

Bose-Einstein students, check this out!
Planet Earth’s global police force (the U S of A military) fights in Moldava.
The enemy has unleashed something uncategorical, and US troops are getting their asses kicked.
Ghost - alien - undead - A I - molemen - spirits - robots? There is an unworldly element to the “spectral" force, and producers are good about teasing the denouement.
Warning - Try to avoid spoiler riddled reviews if you can.
A weapons designer is summoned from the States to take the measure of the enemy.
Similar to Cruise’s Edge Of Tomorrow, with even less character development.
Solid cast, mostly men, not boys. Heavy combat action enhance this SciFi / Horror yarn.
The more you can suspend disbelief, the better you may enjoy, though jargon and explanations do stretch thin at times.

Agatha - 1979 - 7/10

Nicely turned, what-if thriller.
In 1926, Agatha Christie disappears for 11 days.
This film is another speculative theory, plausible enough, save for lack of proof.
Dustin Hoffman plays an American newsman who saunters into the mystery.
The chemistry between Hoffman and Vanessa Redgrave (Christie) is chilly, aloof, though that seems typical of the period and the situations.
This is not a romance.
Costumes, period settings, all top notch.
A good mystery in its own right, perhaps forgotten by most save the Christie contingent.

Loulou - 1980 - 6/10

Purely for sex.
Isabel Huppert dumps stolid, if abusive, husband for layabout, petty criminal stud, Gérard Depardieu.
At this time, GD had not turned into Jabba the Hutt, so naysayers don’t get started.
Little narrative “plot” in typical arthouse fare. Wife abandons morally restrictive society for freedom in the alleys.
She does have her own money, however, and never worries about rent, utilities, groceries.
Nor sexual diseases, though Loulou is pre-AIDS.
Story never goes anywhere. Instead characters act as stand-ins for class and expectation.
No, not a lot of fun.
Viewer note - Depardieu is Loulou (for Louis), and one of his male friends is Lulu.

Tokumei Tantei: S01 - 2012 - 7/10
AKA - 匿名探偵

Terrific detective spoof, that also features solid mysteries.
Each episode is a single story, so no narrative arc to follow. ( binging not necessary ).
Low rent private eye lives across from strip club, and trio of forever practicing lovelies.
No car, he pedals a girl’s pink bike. That said, he is a coffee aficionado, and a damn smart dresser.
The clothes and look struck me as prime Disco era, which he wears with flair.
Each episode begins with a damsel in distress: missing money, lost relative, stalker . . .
Because the detective truly lives on limited means, he does plenty of footwork and deduction.
The tone is lightweight, and Katsunori Takahashi oozes charisma.
Fun series - nine episodes.

Five - 2016 - 5/10

Five friends (get it?) decide to pool wages to move into pricey apartment together.
The spotlight hogging rich kid finds himself abruptly disinherited, only he keeps quiet.
New career, he starts peddling high end reefer to high end clients.
Yes, like most mere mortals have access to both.
Complications ensue in not always funny French comedy.
Fanny Ardant plays weed huffin’ Fanny Ardant.

“There’s a gator in the bushes, he’s calling my name …” M Hatchet
Interested, yes!
Alligators love marshmallows, by the way. I used to pitch them into open chompers.

The Two Faces of January - 2014 - 6/10

Sleeper, psychological thriller / mystery based on Patricia Highsmith work.
If you know this particular author, you expect unpleasantness.
Circa mid-60’s. Cheap hustler working female tourists in Athens, encounters a pair of fellow Americans.
Married couple, who are con artists and scammers on a higher level.
The college kid is drifting around, they are on the run.
They begin helping / using each other, each maneuvering for advantage.
Glamorous period clothes, especially appealing on Dunst.
Rugged, rock strewn scenery throughout Greece and Crete underscore the moral bleakness.
No likeable characters in seedy, on-the-run story.