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Vultural

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Join date
19-Aug-2013
Last activity
28-Mar-2024
Posts
4,100

Post History

Post
#1556153
Topic
What are you reading?
Time

Garton, Ray - 411

Kaitlin works in the information call center. Answers questions that lazy phoners cannot look up.
One shift, replying to another, “where is the nearest …” Kaitlin overhears a murder – double murder.
Paranoia kicks in when she fears she just might be next.
By-the-numbers thriller feels like cobbled together scenes and clichés from cheap TV.
Is there a single original idea? No. Nada. Zip.
Our author could, at the very least, have made an effort, instead of this regurgitation.
Don’t waste your time, unless you have a hearty appetite for warmed over reruns.

Post
#1555985
Topic
A few reviews . . (film or TV)
Time

Three-Body - 2023 - 7/10
AKA - San ti // 三体

Across the globe, leading research scientists are committing suicide.
Police officer Qiang is assigned to protect nanoscientist, Wang Miao.

Which draws both men into a clandestine organization, the Frontiers Of Science.
Into conspiracy, ultimately an invasion.
Very heady SciFi series from China demands an early degree of patience.
Thirty episodes, of which the first 10 feel padded.
Why show a 30 second scene, when you can stretch it to 2 minutes?
Likewise repeat a scene over and over, with various angles, so the audience “gets it”.
The characters are somewhat over-the-top and unlikeable at this point, too.
Trust me here, the show settles down and the narrative tightens considerably.
Especially whenever the focus shifts to the Cultural Revolution and the Red Coast base.

Therein lie the seeds for human annihilation.
There is VR gameplay involved and the retro flat CGI is fun.
Science, math, physics and equations throughout.
Outstanding adaptation of Liu Cixin’s novel.
The entire S01 is currently available from Tencent in 4K, with excellent subtitles.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-UO8jbrIoM

Dislike that 30 episode commitment? Reading subs gives you a thinkache? Prefer a more multi-national cast?
Netflix has an 8-part adaptation in the pipe.

Post
#1555984
Topic
A few reviews . . (film or TV)
Time

I See A Dark Stranger - 1947 - 7/10

Bridie is a fierce Republican. Irish Republican.
As England reels in 1944, she decides to help the charming Reich agent with his mission.
Bridie is headstrong, naïve, innocent, while the English – well, they are descendants of Cromwell!
Galloping espionage thriller is shot through with comedy, situations and dialogue.
Script by Gilliant and Launder, plot resembles Hitchcock of this period.

Post
#1555764
Topic
A few reviews . . (film or TV)
Time

My Favorite Year - 1982 - 7/10

Wonderful homage to early TV, and harking back to the Golden Era of Hollywood.
1950’s, television is live, and the popular variety show has a swashbuckling actor from the ’30’s.
Alan Swann (cough Errol Flynn cough) who has problems with alcohol and ladies.
Newly hired gag writer Benjy (ahem, Mel Brooks) is tasked with keeping the guest safe and sober.
It is all the young man can do to simply keep up.
O’Toole is outstanding, embracing Flynn’s self-destructive tendencies, as well as his grace and charm.
Wonderful, big hearted comedy, packed with jokes for tourists, and in-jokes for buffs.
When this screened, oldsters still remembered both Sid Caesar and Flynn in their prime.

Post
#1555763
Topic
A few reviews . . (film or TV)
Time

Disappearing London - 2006 - 6/10

Hosted by Suggs (frontman of Madness), this explores ordinary places, now slipping away.
The dogtracks, haberdasher, custom shoes. The umbrella store, working class cafe.
The tram, bakery, the lido, the tobacco shop, the rivermen….
Suggs is charming throughout, never bemoaning, never complaining.
Many of these places are delightful reminders, yet Time and Progress steamrolls all in its path.
These episodes, I believe, are available on YouTube. Two seasons.

Post
#1555516
Topic
A few reviews . . (film or TV)
Time

Konpaku - 2019 - 6/10

On a dare from his Malay buddies, Haqim approaches a female and asks for her phone number,
The banter is not straightforward.
The female, a Japanese named Midori, asks a handful of tangled questions before giving her number.
From then on, Midori assumes an increasingly prominent role in Haqim’s life.
Entering his dreams, his bedroom, his intimate life. Midori is a sexual demon, a succubus.

Low budget horror from Singapore has a brooding undertone and plenty of jump scares.
Owing to Malaysian Muslim laws, sex is alluded to, with scenes going near brink.
The vampirish Midori, is not only possessive, but also fiercely territorial, as friends discover.

Post
#1555515
Topic
A few reviews . . (film or TV)
Time

Narrow Margin - 1952 - 7/10

She agrees to testify against the mob, who then put out the hit contract.
Cops are assigned to protect her on the train journey, but the assassins are onboard.
Claustrophobic Noir bolstered with terrific performances by genre icons McGraw and Windsor.
The dialogue sizzles and the suspense never lets up.
B-movie budget, yet the acting and direction more than compensate.
Brilliant hard film, ideal for past-midnight viewing.

Post
#1555514
Topic
What are you reading?
Time

Bridges, Thomas C - The People Of The Chasm

Dick is a brilliant engineer, and, as it turns out, a crack pilot.
Alas, when he is taking brother Monty on a test flight, powerful winds blow them into France.
Their rescuer proves to be an extremely wealthy man, whose son disappeared in Antarctica a few years earlier.
Within a few chapters, our intrepid young heroes and wealthy benefactor arrive at the South Pole.

High adventure follows, with deadly creatures, a lost civilization, and a pillar of fire!
Breathless entertainment from 100 years ago makes a decent palate cleanser after heavy reading.

Warning to cynics: Dick and Monty are relentlessly, cheerfully upbeat.

Post
#1555349
Topic
A few reviews . . (film or TV)
Time

Baby Face - 1933 - 7/10

Turned prostitute by her own father, Lily departs the cheap saloon.
She finds work at a large bank and begins her career ascent.
Sleeping with one supervisor (including young John Wayne) after the next.
Beautifully corrosive film, cynical, jungle survival at points.
The headlong fury of this tapers about two thirds in, and the ending is a whitewash.
Audiences knew better, the moralizing conclusion was tacked on for censors.
Fill in your own end.
Barbara Stanwyck is on fire in this essential Pre-Code stunner.

Post
#1555348
Topic
A few reviews . . (film or TV)
Time

How I Spent My Summer Vacation - 1967 - 6/10

Jack answers a vague classifieds ad and is soon whisked to Europe.
In Paris, he encounters Nikki; then in Monte Carlo, her highly competitive father.
Nikki and family are affluent. So he stays on the case, keeps playing the games.
Confusing thriller as Jack is unsure of his mission.
Soon, however, he realizes the assignment has put him in grave danger.
Early made-for-TV movie is near Hollywood standards, with jazzy Lalo Schifrin score.
Excellent casting of Robert Wagner and Peter Lawford, with Jill St. John.
“Such a needless expenditure of time and energy, like your life itself.”

Post
#1555172
Topic
A few reviews . . (film or TV)
Time

Oktoberfest: Beer And Blood - 2020 - 7/10

Beer drinkers, raise your steins high!
Circa 1900, rich brewer Prank from Nuremberg arrives in Munich.
His vision is to revamp, modernize, the annual beer-fest.
A mega-tent, instead of seven allotments.
Entrenched rivals regard him as an upstart, an outsider, and crass.
Per the title, expect blood, along with murders, beatings, and carnal relations.
The side story of Prank’s daughter wandered, yet tied in by the end.
I will say, this grew on me as threads coalesced.

Post
#1555171
Topic
A few reviews . . (film or TV)
Time

They Call Me Trinity - 1970 - 6/10
AKA - Lo Chiamavano Trinità…

Half brothers, Trinity and Bambino, set aside their differences to help a powerful landowner.
The rancher wants to chase away Mormon settlers from his land.
The brothers, layabouts and chiselers, eye the owner’s unbranded horses.
Action mixes with chuckles and romance.
Gunfights and stunts are better than expected, although one watches this for comedy.
This spoofs traditional Westerns with jokes and slapstick, and some purists begrudge that.
My younger brother was addicted to these Italian Westerns, his favorites being the Trinity films.
Most I recall as stupid, yet this is a rare good one. The sequel, if I recall, even better.

Post
#1554955
Topic
A few reviews . . (film or TV)
Time

Murder In The Canal du Midi - 2020 - 6/10
AKA - Le Canal Des Secrets

Turistas find a dead woman floating in the canal.
Suicide? No, homicide. Suspects include her husband, the judge.
As well as her lover, soon enough located, chained in the canal. Dead.
Typical of generic French mysteries, an inspector and prosecutor team up, male and female.
Rather than succumbing to mating impulses, this pair compensates for each others’ deficiencies.
A few red herrings, as well as twists and overlooked clues, will please genre fans.
Mildly better than most of these not-quite Hallmark films.

Post
#1554953
Topic
FanEdit Reviews - Post Your Reviews Here
Time

Waterworld: Ulysses Cut - Zaaacharias

Highly anticipated back in its day, Waterworld proved disappointing for many. Overlong, poorly directed, oft times a soggy mess, it was, nevertheless, embraced by fans for action sequences straight out of the Mad Max world.
The extended Laserdisc, and subsequent DVD, promising a more satisfying experience, but instead the LD gave the PG rated ABC televised edit. Nudity, profanity, and gory violence excised.
Zaaacharias returned all “adult” content to the extended version giving the - for now - defacto version of Costner’s movie.

Video - Nice work here integrating the extended footage into the theatrical release. Saturation is a bit less than the LD, but the editing is solid and first rate. On the list of changes, a link shows comparison shots. Nice touch.

Audio - As mentioned elsewhere. This is 5.0, rather than 5.1 sound. There is no LFE mix. Not a problem as Zaaacharias was upfront about this. Audio editing was top notch. I popped on headphones for several sequences and did not hear any errors or poor transitions.
One thing I did note - and this is not exactly audio, but related - were the subtitles. Subtitles were based on the PG version. For example: “Shit” was seen as “Dang.” Just an observation.

Narrative - The additional 40 minutes will drive many in the post Michael Bay era to punch the fast forward button. Waterworld is more leisurely, more reflective, which is altogether fitting in trailing a loner across endless seas. I still had problems with scientific assumptions in the main plot. I tried to suspend such thoughts, but the notion that the Rockies, the Carpathians, the Andes, the Appalachian range, were all submerged? No.

Enjoyment - Mixed here. Ulysses edit was more fix than edit to my eyes. There were still way too many stupidly, annoying characters. True, a couple years after the apocalypse, few will debate Film Noir vs Pre-Code, sip Merlot, and listen to Dave Brubeck. The dialogue lurched between inventive and cringingly butt dumb.
The whole film seemed suffused with over-acting. Understandable in “Deacon” who preached to his rabble. Pointless with most others. The small girl, Enola, was particularly shrill. For her, and all others, I credit ham handed direction - both Reynolds and Costner.

There is more to appreciate here, to revel in, than to belabor what coulda / shoulda been. As an extended version, trims and wholesale surgery cannot be expected. Zaaacharias has done a stellar job, and his edit is whole heartedly recommended to all Waterworld diehards.

Post
#1554952
Topic
FanEdit Reviews - Post Your Reviews Here
Time

Crow: Devil’s Night - HanShotFirst

Problematic edit for me.
Seemed more a reduction of the original dark color scheme to pure black and white.

Video - I found the majority of this way too black. Details were often lost in the shadows.
The crow often disappeared while flying, the equivalent of the golf ball against white clouds.
A touch of brightening might have helped. During color flashback sequences, details and clarity returned.

Audio - From time to time, I thought I noticed sync issues. Reference 33" region. Lips seemed to lag words.
This was when I played the 4 GB mp4 version straight from an external HD into the USB port of a BluRay.
When I viewed the same through the computer, everything was fine. Could be my set-up, or a glitch owing to USB conversion.

Opening with Brandon Lee was a poignant touch, and a clear statement of what HanShot had in mind. Also much closer to the original series of comics by James O’Barr.

Post
#1554951
Topic
FanEdit Reviews - Post Your Reviews Here
Time

Bladerunner: Tears In The Rain - ranger613

Excellent Noir rendition of Blade Runner.
Creative, using Roy’s, and other replicants, point of view to drive the narrative.
Storywise, everything made sense - which is not always a given with such rearranging.
Pacing was good, I never got bored or felt the need to take a break.

Video: Others have written about the high contrast black and white.
I did not have as many problems, though a softer, grainier look would have been more appropriate to true Noir.
No problems whatsoever with audio. Excellent cutting and editing all around.

Note: This edit was a large file, but well worth chasing down if you are on the fence, deciding about watching.
Tears In The Rain is an inventive spin on a favorite film I have watched dozens of times.

Post
#1554813
Topic
A few reviews . . (film or TV)
Time

Faster Than Fear - 2022 - 6/10
AKA - Schneller als die Angst

André Haffner, serial killer who enjoys torturing his victims, escapes from prison.
After Marcus bungles the initial dragnet, Sunny is put in charge.
Fellow officers think Sunny is unstable. Truth is, she has been traumatized but won’t confide.
Perceived as damaged goods means no promotions, no lead roles…
To my mind, the actress playing Sunny is over the top. A melodrama queen.
Most charismatic role is, natch, the footloose serial killer. Doing what he does best.

Post
#1554812
Topic
A few reviews . . (film or TV)
Time

Queen Margot - 1994 - 6/10
AKA - La Reine Margot (original extended version)

Princess Margot becomes pawn in the bloody struggle between Catholics and Protestants.
Betrothed to the King of Navarre, whom she does not love, Margot has a torrid affair with a soldier.
Both men are Huguenots. If you know French history, this will inform the proceedings.
Margot’s affair with the soldier shades the court intrigue which is more important.
The truncated version for North America, edited this into a muddled bodice ripper.
Isabelle Adjani is radiant as Margot, Vincent Perez is unsatisfying as her love interest.
The result is a bloody melodrama, making me curious about the original (now gone) version.

Post
#1554811
Topic
What are you reading?
Time

Gissing, George - Private Papers Of Henry Ryecroft

One of my battered veterans, purchased decades earlier.
My edition is a leatherbound Modern Library from the 1920’s.
I find it altogether fitting for the text.

Ryecroft would be Gissing’s alter ego, faring better than the author. Ryecroft receives an unexpected inheritance and is able to retire to the countryside. There he observes, recollects, contemplates.
An older soul, our character is selectively nostalgic, possibly like many whose days are numbered.
The book is packed with quotable lines, and I include a fistful.
This may be better for seasoned readers, older than 50 perhaps, who can handle Victorian prose.

“It is because nations tend to stupidity and baseness that mankind moves so slowly; it is because individuals have a capacity for better things that it moves at all.

“Man in not made for peaceful intercourse with his fellows; he is by nature self-assertive, commonly aggressive, always critical in a more or less hostile spirit of any characteristic which seems strange to him.

“Ah! The books that one will never read again. They gave delight, perchance something more … yet never again shall I hold them in my hand; the years fly too quickly, and are too few.

“I know just as little about myself as I do about the Eternal Essence, and I have a haunting suspicion that I may be a mere automaton, my every thought and act due to some power which uses and deceives me.

“Once more, the year has come full circle. And how quickly; alas, how quickly! Can it be whole twelvemonth since the last spring? Enjoy the day, and, behold, it shrinks to a moment.”

Post
#1554674
Topic
A few reviews . . (film or TV)
Time

Queen Of Blood - 1966 - 5/10

Aliens from outer space reach out and say, “Hey, Earth. We’re dropping by to visit.”
Only their spaceship crashes on Mars, so we send a rescue party.
The lone survivor, ambassador if you like, does not eat Earth food, though she likes blood.
Right quick, the plot veers from SciFi to another one bites the dust.
Inventive little film, incorporating scenes from a Soviet SciFi, decent sets, and an excellent cast.
Basil Rathbone (barely), Dennis Hopper, John Saxon, and the exotic Florence Marly as the alien.
One of Roger Corman’s best looking films. Credit director Curtis Harrington.

Post
#1554673
Topic
A few reviews . . (film or TV)
Time

Donovan’s Reef - 1963 - 6/10

Brawny John Wayne comedy set in the South Pacific.
After WWII, a handful of Americans stay on a small island.
One is a Boston doctor, with a trust that he uses to care for islanders.
A female scion arrives, purposely to disinherit the doctor.
Film is a cascade of hijinks, fights, monsoons, romance, songs.
The tone is light and breezy throughout; Wayne apparently did most of the directing after John Ford fell ill.
Island scenery and Pacific waves probably made this a hit with nostalgic veterans.

Post
#1554445
Topic
A few reviews . . (film or TV)
Time

Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell - 1999 - 8/10

No, he was not unwell, he was simply hung-over or too sloshed to submit his column to The Spectator.
Peter O’Toole stars in the revival of the acclaimed play, with a handful of players providing support.
Based on a real Jeffrey Bernard, our character is an unrepentant drinker and gambler.
When the horse track is closed, he will bet on dogs. When that is closed, well, his mates find new runners.
As with 99.9% of men, he has women problems. Four wives. He makes them sick.
A glass of vodka in one hand, cigarette in the other, Jeffrey observes Life, himself, fellow characters.
Characters, meaning individuals whom he finds memorable.
Exhilarating theatre.

Post
#1554444
Topic
A few reviews . . (film or TV)
Time

Once Around - 1991 - 6/10

Renata is part of a tight knit family. Very tight.
Into her world arrives Sam, rich, successful, boorish, and older.
Across the line, the family immediately takes a dislike, which intensifies the harder Sam tries.
Aside from their perception of him, the fact is they resent their adult daughter spending more of her time with him, rather than them – them – them.
Uncomfortable comedy plays far better now than it did upon release. At least to my eyes, Boomers and their offspring are much closer than the actual family units Boomers grew up in.
“The heart wants what it wants - or else it does not care” Dickinson.

Post
#1554250
Topic
A few reviews . . (film or TV)
Time

The Lesson - 2022 - 7/10
AKA - Zero Hour // שעת אפס

The classroom discussion erupts into anger, and a civics teacher is embroiled in a struggle with an unpopular student.
Politically, one is liberal, the other conservative.
The teacher may have authority in the classroom, but once the female student posts on social media, support shifts.
Bitter series brings up numerous unpleasant topics and inflames passions.
Especially after reporters sniff “news” and politicians try for easy points.
Cautionary tale for any college student considering teaching.