Vultural

Summer Of Soul - 2021 - 8/10
(…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

The 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, in storage for over fifty years, forgotten.
Who’s there? Pros like the 5th Dimension, David Ruffin, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight And The Pips.
Gospel greats like the Edwin Hawkins Singers and Mahalia Jackson.
A wild excursion into the future with Sly And The Family Stone.
Nina Simone, militant, provocative.
More! Chambers Brothers, Staples Singers, Hugh Masekela, B.B. King ……
What happened? Woodstock. Film bookers thought there was only room for one music documentary.
This is great. The audio quality superb. Do not miss. Sly will leave you higher!

Testament - 1988 - 8/10

Outstanding seven part biblical series hosted by John Romer.
Archaeologist, scholar, historian, Egyptologist, and serious Bible reader, Mr Romer wanders from Mesopotamia and Egypt, trailing Abraham.
Episodes show the gradual coalescence of Israel, the formation of the state, then the writing of the history - which became the Old Testament.
From there the splinter group of Christians, the spread and rise of the faith.
Romer is infectious, his love of the history and the land is apparent.
Most of the photography hails from digs across the holy land.

Distorted - 2018 - 5/10

Following a breakdown, artistic female starts seeing “things” no one else does.
Her husband blames their environment (spacious, well appointed apartment) and they move to the high tech condo.

• Unsaid is where does the money come from? -
  Soon, lights flicker, the TV flashes - even when switched off, and neighbors hum “Beautiful Dreamer.”
  The plot, a garbled blend of conspiracy theory, mind control and surveillance, teeters from implausible to preposterous.
  Piffle.

S.O.S. Eisberg - 1933 - 6/10

A member of the Arctic expedition had wandered away, then presumed dead.
Except, 200 days later evidence surfaces of his dogged existence.
Four men set out to rescue, along with a Husky dog and a sled.
Photography in this is stunning, especially watching characters navigate glaciers, icebergs, pack ice.
Likewise aerial reconnaissance. The planes weaving and banking between icebergs is breathtaking.
(Stunt pilot Ernst Udet had flown with von Richthofen’s Flying Circus and was an ace with 62 victories.)
There seem too many scenes of man vs nature, and heroic endurance.

As with US / Mexican versions of Dracula (1931), Universal made filmed the concurrent S.O.S. Iceberg, for US audiences, using most of the same cast (Leni Riefenstahl in both).

The Devil’s Whore - 2008 - 6/10

One of the members of the fanedit world bounced this film across the board; curious, I chased it down.
17th century costumer. Four part series of the English conflict between Cromwell and Royalist cavaliers.
Sketchy overview covered a lot of historical territory, from the vantage of a fictitious lady observing famous names making history.
Seemed like the bulk of the story was accurate (I checked Wiki), though shallow.
I thought the show had nice production values, though adjacent audience members declared it cheap and confusing.
I was never involved nor interested.
Better for history buffs, unless cracking the research page isn’t beyond you.

Panic Attack - 2017 - 6/10
AKA - Atak Paniki

Multiple storylines that connect … somewhat.
A bride at her wedding, young boys getting stoned, a couple having lunch, airline passengers saddled with an overly chatty seatmate, a sex worker, an online gamer. There may another, I don’t remember.
Title might just as well be “When Disaster Strikes!”
This Polish film is not as funny as adverts declare. Characters are, one way or another, spineless.
Despite a few clever premises and sympathetic acting, the writing does not deliver.

Leviathan - 2017 - 5/10

Alonso inherits his father’s research papers, delving into the occult.
Caution to the winds, he attempts to organize and piece together the unsolved.
Short “Lovecraft” derived film has good sound, music and photography.
The script is an indecisive shuffle, however.
For no apparent cause, Alonso grows paranoid and anti-social.
I rewatched, this time deciding the father had been a college drama teacher.
All those papers were student plays, teledramas, criticisms, making Alonso unhinged.
It was pretty funny that way.

The Company You Keep - 2012 - 7/10

Nicely turned thriller of hunt for underground Weatherman.
If you are saying, “Wha?” that exposes an oversight in the script.
Precious little was given to the backstory, the late 60’s - early 70’s, when the Weathermen resorted to violence to end the Vietnam War, and also as a reaction to heavy handed government crackdowns.
Redford plays the underpaid, altruistic attorney who disappears into trains and rental cars, touching bygone comrades, with FBI agents and ambulance chasing reporters in pursuit.
Great cast with Susan Sarandon, Nick Nolte, Julie Christie, Shia LeBeouf, Sam Elliot, among many others.
Held my interest throughout, followed by discussion why students are no longer so passionate.
“Cause there is no draft,” someone said. “Once students, male and female, get drafted for old mens’ wars, then they would make noise.”

Rest In Peace - 2013 - 7/10
AKA - Počivali U Miru

The state prison at Zagreb is closed, scheduled for demolition.
Local reporter, doing a story on this, runs across the plot of unclaimed graves.
Why did no one want them? What were their stories?
And why, inside the first coffin, was there no body? Only a straw effigy.
What follows is a “story of the week.” A low rent Lothario, amateur bank robbers, a rube left holding the Ponzi scheme, and darker tales of vengeance, blood and murder.
Since most of their histories took place in the recent past, especially during the Yugoslav Wars of the 90’s, there are numerous flashbacks throughout.
Also, the reporter, Lucia, needs an inside guide and finds one in retired guard, Martin.
Martin is crafty, secretive, helpful, corrupt, guilt ridden. Truth does not come easy.
While we watch each corpse’s life, there is an ongoing arc of the man who was the straw effigy.

Well told and nicely structured series from Croatia.
The show is steeped in the vendettas and atrocities of the Balkan conflicts.
A working knowledge of that history is not mandatory, but it will certainly help.

The Unholy Three - 1925 - 6/10

Decided to rewatch this after reading the original novel.
The Tod Robbin’s novel differed markedly, principally in that the chief boss is not Echo, but Tweedledee.
In the Tod Browning adaptation, the focus is Echo. Lon Chaney was a megastar.
Three troublesome misfits leave the circus sideshow for a life of crime.
Robberies and burglaries grow increasingly violent, resulting in murder.
An absurd romance is force-fit into the proceedings (there was one in the novel, but this one is ridiculous).
The film is creaky, the pace poky. Later Browning and Chaney pairings would be better.
The print ranges from good to fair. This has never been remastered. There are two 1925 versions; one shows rudimentary tinting (done by a fan who did not grasp the principles of tinting).
The soundtrack is an random assemblage of Classical and salon, never appropriately mirroring the ongoing screen action.
Chaney deserves better.

20 Feet From Stardom - 2013 - 6/10

Acclaimed documentary about background singers.
Some were genuinely cheated (Darlene Love), others held the spotlight for a bit (Merry Clayton, Lisa Fischer).
Most were - are - simply that, background singers.
Filmmakers make this as interesting as they can, but it stuck me there would be little difference between this and a doc about Hollywood or television bit players.
Sly might have sung, “Everybody is a star,” but sorry, no, everybody is not.

Robbins, Tod - Unholy Tales

Four stories and a novel from the mostly forgotten Browning.
“Spurs” is the most (in)famous tale here, an this was optioned by Universal where Tod Browning fashioned it into Freaks. The story is of a midget and a bareback ride, though Robbins’ original is the more straightforward. While interesting to read, it has none of the shock of the adaptation.
“Silent, White And Beautiful” is narrated by an artist. Sculptor, by training. Decent enough, although sales barely keep him above poverty. A European, he opts to emigrate to America, ignorant that Americans have no taste for artistic endeavor, and certainly no coin to spend. An unsavory tale, this, yet the narrator’s elegant cynicism grows on you.
The main piece, the novel “The Unholy Three,” is the jewel of this collection. This had also been filmed by Browning (in 1925), with Lon Chaney, no less! Later remade as a talkie, Chaney again.
Both versions deviate from the source material, and not in a good way. Neither improve upon the book. For me, both are inferior by comparison.
The books shines the spotlight on two individuals: The young idler, Hector McDonald, who fancies his literary prowess and envisions a glittering career. The other character is the malevolent dwarf, Tweedledee. Equally consumed by ambition and dreams, equally thwarted, Tweedledee’s spirit becomes corrupt, and he declares vengeance upon the world.
Note – This might have made a superior film, but Harry Earles was no Lon Chaney.
Robbins writes with a punchy, vivid style. Not overly florid. His characters, good and bad, breathe and react in recognizable ways. He can also drop clever of phrase, one after another, without going purple.

1964 (American Experience) - 2014 - 7/10

Documentary lays out the premise that 1964 was THE pivotal year for the States.
The transition from the 50’s to the 60’s.
Cultural landmarks include: Betty Friedan’s “The Feminine Mystique,” Civil Rights marches, The Beatles arrival, Cassius Clay – Muhammad Ali, Vietnam, Berkeley unrest , etc …

The ongoing crux of the narrative was the Presidential contest between Johnson and Goldwater.
How Goldwater, in essence, shifted the Republican party out of the country club and into the right wing.

The edge of my memory, this, and events are difficult to separate from those I actually remember from those I subsequently learned through reading and watching.
One pet theory of mine is that this was the high water mark of the American middle class.
Thereafter, rising globalization and competition would level (lower) the game, while US politicians would tax the middle class to extinction. Decades later, they’re going, “How’d this happen?”

I’m So Excited! - 2013 - 3/10
AKA - Los Amantes Pasajeros

Box reads: “FIRST-CLASS HILARITY!"
Balls.
Shockingly awful film. Even more appalling / distressing, it was written & directed by Pedro Almodóvar, who had been on a career streak up to this gobbler.
Jet circles over Spain, owing to disabled landing gear, allowing alcohol guzzling crew and 1st Class passengers to confess sexual secrets. For no apparent reason, stewards prance musical number.
Sexual bathroom humor, rampant homosexual stereotypes, not to mention a sequence where a female passenger rapes an unconscious male. If genders were reversed, would it be so “funny”?
Benny Hill did this nudge-nudge, wink-wink nonsense 40 years ago. Times and mores pass.
I ended up wondering if this reflects Spanish behavior and values.
Also knowing I had wasted of 90 minutes of my life.

Tunes For Tyrants: Music And Power - 2017 - 6/10

Three part series of music / composers appropriated / exploited by despots.
Specifically, Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin, circa 1930’s and 40’s.
Living composers = R Strauss, Prokofiev, Shostakovich. RIP = Beethoven, Wagner.
Doc references banned Jazz music, Vichy France, concentration camp bands, British composers.
Hit n miss, with the first two episodes the best. Stalin disappears by E03.
No mention of Mussolini (Respighi), nor Mao Zedong and the spirited sing-alongs relished by happy cohorts.
Fine concept, weakened by lack of follow-through and insufficient material.

The Barrier - 2020 - 6/10
AKA La Valla

After World War III, a new virus emerges. Contagious and deadly.
There is no cure, and as scientists hurry to find a cure, society begins to break down.
In an unprecedented move, Spain turns to fascism.

After three episodes, this became a series I watched to hate.
Who are the scientists using as guinea pigs? Innocent, wide-eyed children.
Our heroic core are stupid beyond belief. Yelling at authority figures, disdaining rules.
While I hated the medical types, I started rooting for the military.
They seemed to be the lone civil authority in a city sliding into dystopia.
Series is one-dimensional, acting (from our heroes) is over the top.
For all that, this does conclude, with an ending I am comfortable with.

We Are The Night - 2010 - 7/10
AKA - Wir Sind Die Nacht

Vampire tale, set in modern, neo-Weimar Berlin.
Throbbing nightclubs and blood cocktails. Opulent production design worsens with the narrative.
The V word is never mentioned, by the way, and in this world, there are no male vampires.
The leader of the trio recruits a new member, who has trouble transitioning.
Story flows on a rockin’ pace, though characters don’t really “do” much aside from partying.
Boredom, ennui, debauchery punctuated by kills. Sex implied, rather than graphic.
Very well cast - but - the English dub is godawful! Shrill voice actors mar the tone.
So …
If possible, find the FanEdit version by INH5, (We Are The Night: Revamped).
German language (with English dub and editor commentary).
Deleted or unfinished scenes finished, enhanced and reinserted. Also some new special effects.
Disclosure: I was a key previewer for this edit, and often shared my thoughts with the faneditor.

No, My Darling Daughter - 1961 - 6/10

Fairy tale of bubbly daughter to super rich investor father.
He wants to send her to Paris for finishing, she wants to remain in school.
Instead, she meets a visiting Yank and starts “living.” Sight-seeing, picnics, enjoying life.
You’d think that would suffice, yet everyone meddles and assumes.
Brisk light comedy chirps merrily along, and it is interesting to see pre Swinging London (though everyone involved in privileged beyond belief).
Although the conclusion was “all’s well that ends well,” I found it rather sad myself.

Star Trek: Prelude To Axanar - 2014 - 7/10

For the old guard, longing for Star Trek of yore, this was red meat.
Paramount had tolerated, even signed off on independent fan series for decades.
Star Trek Continues, Starship Farragut, Star Trek: Phase II, Star Trek: Hidden Frontier, etc …
Amateur productions in quality and talent.
Axanar, however, utilized actors and production members who had worked on legitimate Star Trek projects, as well as Battlestar Galactica.
The actual film would detail the Four Years War, the conflict between Federation and Klingon, set before the Kirk - Spock era.
This preliminary short floored the fanbase, and crowdfunding money poured in for the feature.
Paramount sued. Were they terrified by real competition to their juvenile formula?
The short, despite budget constraints, is reverent, faithful to the series, and leaves one eager for more.
After a few years, Axanar, losing in litigation, was shut down.
What remains is the original “prelude,” a tantalizing remnant of what might have been.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1W1_8IV8uhA

The Double Life Of Véronique - 1991 - 7/10
AKA - La Double Vie de Véronique

Weronika has a gift. A voice so radiant, ethereal, its purity leaves listeners breathless.
There is a price, though. At times, near the peak of delirium, it hurts.
One afternoon, watching passengers board the bus, she sees her double.
Weronika stand there, spellbound, while the doppelganger on the bus does not see her.
In any other film, the narratives would begin to dovetail between Weronika and Véronique.
Not so here
At one point, one story ebbs and the other surges to prominence.
Véronique, a music teacher, appears to lead a less compelling life than Weronika.
Nonetheless, during a theatre performance, a side door opens.
The film is then an exploration of self-identity, awareness, what it is like to exist.
A haunting film, but not an easy film. Director Kieślowski leaves some questions unanswered, others are opaque.
Different audiences will likely have different interpretations.
The mystery of Life, the ecstasy of the moment.

Ring Of Curse - 2011 - 6/10
AKA - Gomennasai // ごめんなさい

Another riff on the “grudge” theme, popular in J-films.
Setting is high school, and the usual tropes apply.
Popular girls bully the misfit. Boys are props, standing around silently. Adults = where?
Girls decide to produce the school play and coerce the brainy weirdo to write the script.
Unluckily for them, she knows select words to write, in precise order, to launch a death curse.
Not a bad film. Better haunted schoolgirl movies are out there, but this is enjoyable enough and I watched this to the end bits past the credits.

Note: The lone available English subs had timing errors and malformed spelling.
I corrected those, and uploaded –
https://subscene.com/subtitles/ring-of-curse-gomennasai/english/850604

Wooden Overcoats: S01 - 2015 - 6/10

Goings on at the small isle of Piffling Vale.
Rudyard Funn owns the island’s lone funeral home.
Contemptuous, short tempered, scornful, he gets away with shoddy people skills because there is no competition.
Until Chapman appears, starts his own funeral business with the slogan, “Let’s put the fun in funerals!”
Cocktails, gaiety, singalongs. Business soars, at the expense of Funn Funerals.
Rudyard, who could be Basil Fawlty’s long lost nephew, concocts schemes to undermine or destroy Chapman.
With about as much success as the Torquay proprietor would have.
Season One of this radio comedy is eight parts, with high production values.

Death On The Tyne - 2018 - 5/10

The ladies enjoy duty-free shopping before the luxury liner sets sail.
From Newcastle to Amsterdam!
Unknown to all, a murderer is aboard.
Soon enough, crying time begins.
Oh, about a third of this is funny. The bits with the three old birds, as well as the underutilized bridal party.
Tour operators Gemma and Terry drag the film with soggy chemistry, and inept dialogue (not their fault).
What could have been a sharp, funny satire on cruise ships is a tub of forced farce.
If silly is your comedy, heave ho.

Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa - 2014 - 6/10

Sleepy, local radio station gets bought out by major broadcast chain.
Changes announced, staff “reassigned.” One soul reacts poorly, however.
Hit and miss comedy, but misfires are rare.
Wicked satire of media culture in all its fake forms.
Steve Coogan effective as self-centered sleazebag who hurls everyone under the bus.

The Bridesmaid - 2004 - 6/10
AKA - La Demoiselle d’honneur

Manipulative Claude Chabrol film, based on dark Ruth Rendell novel.
At the wedding of his oldest sister, Philippe meets bridesmaid Senta.
Sparks ignite, and she soon engulfs Philippe, emotionally and physically.
Their time together is spent primarily in the basement of a dilapidated manor.
Senta is an actress, who worked with John Malkovich. Woody Allen, was a dancer, bummed around overseas.
Philippe’s warning radar seldom goes off. Even when he manages to question Senta, she disrobes or coaxes him back into her sheets again, distracting his tiny brain.
Viewers know something is wrong, and the movie is queasy road of deception and delusion.