Vultural

Phillips, Thomas - The Light Is Alone

At first glance, the short sentences and chopped style of Phillips appears easy. It is not, this is deceptively dense.
Clipped, pared to the essence, this is the antidote to purple overdose.
From young authors with a fondness for adjectives to establish scribes with a weakness for product placement, both camps could study a story or two.
“Alyssa” resides in the apartment or boarding house. One that used to be quiet. Satisfactory. Until the new arrival, young male, full of himself, his importance, heedless of requests to be more neighborly. Such is merely the launching, as the story soon shifts to the conflict between zealot and heathen. Of force and fortitude.
“Keep Holy The Sabbath” lingers on new girl Alice. New student, school, new continent for that matter. Where social norms, on the surface, appear similar. Once she is comfortable, however, and she sees under the superficial, fundamental beliefs and assumptions are rocked.
These two are the strongest tales, and perhaps act as bookends. In between are a trilogy of short works. Too short for my liking, as none gather enough momentum to get anywhere. They remind this reader of prose poems, which I am not a fan of, equating them with academic exercises.
Jonas (Zagava) has five titles by Phillips, and you can see why he champions this author.
Note: The Light Is Alone was previously published in an extremely limited edition, long out of print, now reselling for lofty prices.

50M2 - 2021 - 7/10
AKA - (Fifty Square Meters)

Shadow has a falling out with his boss, a businessman / gangster.
While Shadow was his #1 enforcer, no one is indispensable.
After surviving a botched hit job, Shadow hides himself in small shop in a run down quarter.
Where residents soon assume he is the son of the recently deceased tailor.
He has unique abilities to deal with neighborhood blight and small time chiselers.
The larger adversary is the property developer, bullying, badgering, misleading.
Writing is sharp throughout, in this surprisingly funny dark tinged series.
How dark? The final episode goes full Noir, filmed at night, simmering tensions released.
Unfortunately, this is a Netflix show, with a Netflix non-ending.
While I would be inclined to view S02, I would have to wait to read comments to see if inspiration remained.

Goltzius And Pelican Company - 2012 - 6/10

Serious arthouse territory here.
Peter Greenaway film. Those uninitiated to Mr Greenaway, beware.
In look and visual overload, this is much closer to Prospero’s Book rather than Cook, Thief, Wife, Lover.
17th century dramatist, scribe, bookbinder Goltzius approaches the Margrave of Alsace with the aim of illustrated book publication.
The first book will from the Old Testament, focusing on the salacious, the wicked, the steamy parables.
The Margrave asks to see the stories acted out first by Goltzius’ troupe, which they do - sans clothes.
As with other Greenaway films, there is copious nudity, full frontal, male and female.
Saturated colors, overlapping images, dense dialogue, multiple storylines, not to mention Biblical references and reenacting parables as pornography may be a challenging watch for some.

Skinhead - 2016 - 6/10

Oi! Oi! Oi!
Well before the Oi culture, Neo-Nazis, and yob association, London skinheads were kicking boots with Jamaican mates, swaying to reggae and ska, shouting at football matches.
At the matches, however, Northern firms spied and appropriated the cuts, boots, jackets, but not the tolerance.
Informative documentary shows the 60’s beginnings of shaved heads, the near disappearance, the Punk associations, then catching the eye of the National Front.
For those who think they know Skinhead culture, they probably don’t.
Thanks to Mr Crisp for suggesting this.

Operation Valkyrie: Stauffenberg’s Plot To Kill Hitler - 2008 - 6/10

Documentary on botched 1944 assassination attempt on Hitler.
Sections on Stauffenberg”s childhood, personal life, military career are fine.
Background on the conspirators, failed attempts, and the historical perspective during the latter years of the war are clear and well presented.
Some reenactments, but not too much. Likewise for the CGI, primitive, limited, yet not excessive.
“Talking heads,” by and large, are poorly miked throughout.
At 76 minutes, this feels a bit long, and the first third is too slow.

The Rewrite - 2014 - 6/10

Being a tad generous here, scoring a 6 for stale goods.
Hugh Grant plays washed up Hollywood screenwriter who accepts teaching position in upstate New York.
He is supposed to select his class by reading over 100 thirty page screenplays.
Instead he checks social profiles and chooses a room full of hotties and two male geeks.
No competition then, for him in his role of Lord Of The Thighs.
A series of glaring social faux pas alienates fellow instructors and students. (All that rang false and forced.)
Though technically in the rom com genre, this is lightweight in romance and comedy.

Three Swings On A Pendulum - 1967 - 6/10

Listed as a documentary, this is a peculiar artifact from Swinging London.
Three outsiders, an Aussie, a Frenchman, an African, row up the Thames into the capital.
They explore several shops (this screams for color), chat with the locals.
The reserved English open up and are surprisingly forthright.
Older folks enjoy the 60’s moment, London as Zeitgeist.
Younger, more thoughtful interviewees, regard the time as passing.
Mass adoption of hairstyles, fashions, merely another method of conformity.
Again, this is a curio, and not an in-depth overview of the heady era.

Seisaku’s Wife - 1965 - 7/10
AKA - Seisaku no Tsuma // 清作の妻

Back from military training, Seisaku is the village’s righteous man, the role model.
As such, admired, respected, and disliked and equal measures.
Of all girls available, he chooses the lovely Okane, whom villagers shun as a harlot.
Theirs is a hothouse relationship, possessive and obsessive.
While the Russo-Japanese War washes ever closer, villagers hope Seisaku enjoys a glorious death.
Measured study of petty village behavior and the madness of love.

Stella Runs For Office - 2002 - 6/10
AKA - Stella í Frambðdi

Odd, to say the least, political comedy from Iceland.
The leading party watch and giggle as rivals repeatedly sabotage themselves.
Until campaign advisor Stella emerges as a darkhorse contender.
Weirdly funny film with out of place music interludes:
A woman plucking a chicken while listening to “Sway,” two blue collar guys dancing to “Big Spender,” the drunken inspector seizing the microphone in a revue.
Many laugh out loud moments. Other times, I knew I was missing jokes and references.
Definitely not Scandinavian Noir.
Quirky - foreign - way off the path.

Magic In The Moonlight - 2014 - 6/10

Woody Allen film set in 1928 Europe.
Colin Firth plays magician asked to debunk a female mentalist / hoaxer.
Mentalist is quite pretty and an uneasy romance beckons.
Picture Houdini wooing a Zeigfield Follies girl.
Gorgeous sets, costumes, vintage music.
The 1928 date was a loaded time utterly ignored (Wall Street Crash was 1929 - Hitler became chancellor in 1933).
Likewise the realization that this entire world of gardens and country houses is a breath away from extinction.
Plot remains feather light throughout.
Not to spoil anything, but the narrative faltered in the third act. Badly.
Before that misstep I had been enjoying the movie.
At its core, keep in mind, this is a magic show.
Magic insiders, Allen delivers a successful pledge, a very poor turn, and no prestige.

Hodge, Brian - Without Purpose, Without Pity

Published in 2012, this has its prophetic moments.
Las Vegas is expiring from an (un)natural catastrophe.
The water supply, as well as the gambling tourist trade, has dried up.
As the city reverts to arid desert, it is encircled by tornado / hurricane / devil winds, denying entrance and exodus. Residents are trapped.
Residents, including boxers, pugilists, and their coaches, who train and combat for ever dwindling purses. Crowds, as ever, roar for blood.
Especially for the fighter who has begun transfiguring into something more, and something less.
In this short novel for the old Delirium Press, Hodge unrolls multiple stories and themes. A few too many, if you ask me, as he is never able to array his threads into a coherent team.
I found this intriguing, especially the boxing angles, for a long time. The conclusion, should you call it that, is the hastily shrugged “good enough” surrender.

The Sleepers - 2019 - 8/10
AKA - Bez Vědomí

Top notch espionage thriller set in Prague, 1989, as the revolution is imminent.
Maria wants to visit her sister in Czechoslovakia, husband Victor is less keen.
After all, they fled as dissidents years ago. What could happen? asks Maria.
A traffic accident could happen, with Maria waking up with no husband.
From there, she contacts the British embassy, Czech security, none with answers.
Clouding her search further are agents of the KGB and StB (Secret Police).
Narrative twists and turns, most characters are determinedly miserable.
Realpolitik predominates.

The Woman Executioner - 1968 - 6/10
AKA - La Femme Bourreau

Tempted to score this higher, for the strangeness factor.
Surreal Expressionistic film of man who copycats a serial killer.
Confused, abused man begins affair with his therapist / parole officer.
He also identifies with a recently executed female serial killer and starts wearing with wigs and heels.
Film is loaded with jump cuts and the narrative often leaps.
The result is borderline incoherence, yet it has a great score and the “look” is particularly striking.
For you cult buffs, Jean Rollin was in the acting credits.

October Gale - 2014 - 6/10

Recently widowed doctor goes to her remote family cottage out on an island.
Grieves, tidies up, reminisces.
Twenty minutes into the film, she sees an intruder crawling across the floor, gunshot wound to his shoulder.
Who shot him? Why? How did he get to the remote island? In the middle of a storm, no less.
Thriller, only in the loosest sense as the plot plods along with limited tension.
Smart looking photography, minimal dialogue, low-key characters with underdeveloped motivations.
Story never goes anywhere, and watching seems more killing time.

An Evening With Miriam Margolyes - 2021 - 6/10

Miriam shares the stage with Simon Callow at the Alexandra Palace.
She is hawking her new biography, he is interviewing.
Callow has read the book, or he has been well prepared as questions are pertinent.
Upbringing, school, training, outrageous incidents.
Interesting, though not compelling.
Callow, somewhat difficult to read, deploys a stock laugh, whether amused or uncomfortable,
Second half, Margolyes answers audience questions (from knowledgeable to humorous to asinine).

Ladies They Talk About - 1933 - 6/10

Barbara Stanwyck in Pre-Code women in prison flick.
Moll used as decoy while gang pulls off bank heists.
Only she gets caught and sent to the slammer.
San Quentin seems nicer than most caged women pens.
The matron and wardens are no-nonsense, but sympathetic.
Jailbirds listen to records, read, play cards. Hardest duty is laundry.
Stanwyck displays gentle and rotten streaks side by side.
Her loyalty to her old gang is paramount, though, which places her outside redemption.
At barely an hour, the film is loaded with plotlines, twists, romance, and razor edged dialogue.
For all that, not essential Pre-Code.

A Curtain Raiser - 2006 - 6/10
AKA - Un Lever de Rideau

One act short of youthful miscommunication and fateful decisions.
“Bean-counter” boyfriend starts tallying how many minutes and hours his girlfriend has kept him waiting.
Most disrespectful, he concludes, while complaining to an older friend.
The more experienced male tries to offer advice, suggesting patience and dialogue.
The girl arrives - 45“ late - and the boyfriend’s resolution is sorely tested.
Thirty minute film, while elegantly staged, may tire impatient viewers.
For more curious souls, an easy introduction to director François Ozon.

Lips Of Blood - 1975 - 7/10
AKA - Lèvres de Sang

Moody, atmospheric, dreamlike Horror film is a must for Jean Rollin fans.
A man sees a photo of a ruined caste, which triggers a childhood memory of an encounter.
He starts inquiring about the castle, the photo, and finds opposition to his search.
After a trip to the city tombs, he unleashes four female vampires, nude save for the sheerest fabric imaginable.
Most of this was filmed at night in a cemetery, urban wastelands, and underground.
Rollin’s films always have a measured pace, but he has a photographer’s eye for details.
As vampires, the ladies are fairly laughable, especially when the teeth appear.
Most will gaze through the fabric, however, I daresay.
A rewarding film. Novices, be warned, this is close to arthouse.
Prudes - nudity galore.

Open Your Eyes - 2021 - 5/10
AKA - Otwórz Oczy

She wakes in the hospital bed. What happened? Where am I? Wait a minute … who am I?
Another day in the amnesia clinic for Julia.
An exclusive center, where all patients are young and talented. Gifted.
Also tightly watched and controlled.

Two episodes set up characters, stories, and the “surveillance village” concept.
Followed by three episodes where everyone twirls their thumbs.
Padding. Trying to make characters with the personalities of potatoes seem intriguing.
Then the last episode, where the plot is shuffled, and is suddenly interesting.
Why didn’t writers do this from the beginning? Why? Because they were told to deliver a Netflix ending.
Meaning, there ain’t no ending. Producers hope for a S02 for a series with more fat than an elephant seal.
Dull writing, weighted down with zombie actors.

What If? - 2013 - 7/10

Tart romantic comedy.
Couple meet at a party, chat, drift away, but leave together so he walks her home.
She doesn’t invite him inside, advising her boyfriend will be so worried.
Instead, she writes down her phone number and says “call me.”
Oh yeah, whatever.
Still, being squarely in the romantic genre, they do succumb to natural attraction and become buddies.
On each other’s friend shelf.
Dialogue driven film, rather clever dialogue, with characters who are career professionals, who don’t want to cause or inflict emotional carnage, but who also don’t want to miss out on the real thing.
Good date film. Know thyself, though. These are not giggling twenty year olds, nor is the film aimed at that crowd.

The Glass Menagerie - 2021 - 7/10

Isabelle Huppert leads in an Amsterdam production of Williams’ play.
Set in their underground dwelling, mother and two children clutch elusive dreams.
The language is rapid, especially from Huppert, which means subtitles race by.
The language can be a distraction, however.
At one point my wife asked me to pause and “talk.” I knew what she wanted. I am Southern and still bear a soft drawl. That is noticeably missing here.
Casting, reflecting Woke inclusivity, rings false. There is no way a 1940’s fading belle would ever countenance a prospective suitor of color.
For theatre fans, for Huppert fans, watching her on stage make this indispensable.

Miss Fisher Murder Mysteries: S02 - 2013 - 6/10

Second round of episodes of Australia’s jazz baby sleuth.
As before, costumes are impeccable and the period set design full of details and eye candy.
Stories themselves more hit n miss than the first season.
First couple of shows approximate Murder She Wrote nonsense.
Plots are stale, characters awkward, direction is heavy handed.
Writing does improve and the episodes gradually return to the grace of season one, ending on a high point.

KEDi - 2017 - 6/10

Lightweight “documentary” for masochists. Oops, excuse me, cat lovers.
Everyone else, caveat emptor. γνῶθι σεαυτόν
Camera follows several cats living in Istanbul.
Humans care for them, declare how amazing they are.
Felines lead a merry life in an exotic locale.
Nothing negative whatsoever in this.

Cat people should purr happily watching this.
Captures feline personalities and activities.
I have been to Istanbul and can assure you there are many cats like these.
At an outdoor cafe, a big orange tom sat next to me and kept thumping my leg when he wanted more food.
In another bistro, a cat curled up beside Zelda and slept, happy sharing her warmth.

Black Coal, Thin Ice - 2014 - 7/10
AKA - Báirì Yànhuǒ // 白 日 焰 火

Two Chinese cops investigate severed body parts found on a coal conveyer belt.
They zero in on suspects then the entire case literally explodes in front of them.
Jump ahead five years. The detectives are apart, yet the old file has revived.
Challenging procedural, definitely not for ADD viewers.
Photography is flat, there are no flashy forensic solutions.
Just cops following thin leads and aberrant behavior.
Filmmaker assumes the audience has enough intelligence to follow a story, rather then being fed one.

Miracles For Sale - 1939 - 6/10

Retired magician, Morgan, designs and sells stunts to headliners.
And also exposes fraudulent mediums, clairvoyants, mystics.
The blonde arrives, and soon there is a locked room murder.
Fast paced mystery with murder and magic
Romance, supernatural, comic touches, and a strong supporting cast (great for old movie buffs).
Robert Young fine as lead. Truth to tell, I hunted this down because it was the final film by Tod Browning.