Copied my review from OT to FEDB. Hopefully, it pumps traffic.
As you are aware, it seems easier to say “gimme!” rather than “thanks”.
Likewise, scribbling a 4-5 sentence review is akin to brain seizure.
Yours is a good edit, and I’m glad the FE “Academy” approved it.
Coded Bias - 2020 - 6/10
MIT researcher Joy Buolamwini, playing with new facial recognition software, discovers built in prejudices.
The software is very good at differentiating between white males, less with white females, even less with males of color, and poor with females of color.
In other words, facial algorithms developed by white males seem best suited for white males.
The errors of mistaken identity have implications when facial recognition is used by law enforcement.
Parallel narratives follow how this is being implemented in China, and in the West, by Big Tech (Amazon).
The narrative wanders off-topic into identity, privacy and data mining, not necessarily by facial recognition.
Meaning, the biggest personal snitch is the one in your pocket … your “smart” phone.
And, in my opinion, fewer and fewer angst over personal privacy. Younger souls have less inkling of living free range.
The Human Face Of Big Data - 2014 - 5/10
One of those docs that arouses my skepticism.
52 minutes of earnest, very, very idealistic souls talking of the miracles of data mining.
We can track diseases! Governments will be better serve citizens!
Neighborhoods will be more efficient and cleaner!
Society will grow closer, we shall be oh-so happy!
Good thing, too, for the 1,000,000,000 additional planet dwellers predicted within a generation.
At the 40 minute mark, there are a few remarks about the downsize of correlating and exploiting.
But, hey, that only lasts for 6 minutes, then back to smiling utopia!
The majority of speakers are affluent, privileged souls, living in the sheltered bubble.
I suspect few of them would permit the lower orders into their community.
Nor would they allow the children of dirt to attend the same schools as their own offspring.
(One phrase I have heard, “They just can’t keep up. It’s sad.”)
No dictators, totalitarian leaders, or government spy agencies were interviewed, either.
Dark souls who apply data information to … well … you know where I’m going with this.
The Sapphires - 2012 - 6/10
Feel good rubbish, “inspired” by actual events.
I enjoyed this while I watched it, but afterward started dwelling on it.
The oldest girl looked old - the actress was in her 40’s.
Who was that white Irish guy who supposedly found and managed the group? Phil Spector?
(Chris O’Dowd perfect casting as sleazo manager.)
Since when did the war department carry entertainers into Vietnam active combat zones?
Oh, I forgot, “inspired by.”
Which means any fantasy will suffice.
Nice music, but otherwise this is a fairytale.
Sherlock Holmes - 2013 - 7/10
AKA - Шерлок Холмс
Highly entertaining retelling of the canon.
Not that stories are faithful, they are respectful, yet differ in bold strokes.
The series is more Watson-centric, often told from his point of view.
He is not a stupid bumbler. Moreover, as ex-military, he knows how to use his revolver as well as his fists.
And yes, that revolver gets used with deadly accuracy. As do the police revolvers.
Yes, another difference, the police carry and use guns. At times, scenes resemble Tombstone rather than London.
Inspector Lestrade is a wily old fox, chastising Holmes, yet shrewdly using the detective.
While scenery is full Victorian, this London is more open, less cramped, and extraordinarily gritty.
Fans will have fun seeing what shards of stories are utilized in each episode.
Greyzone - 2018 - 5/10
Security forces in Denmark and Sweden hunt for missing nuclear warhead, then advanced drone!
Soon, they realize a high-tech expert has been kidnapped, and she may be forced into dark deeds.
Reviews for this were wide ranging, so I knew there was a 50-50 chance I might dislike this.
Within a half hour you realize the terrorists are Muslim extremists. Really?
Woman kidnapped, and her son threatened. Child in danger, really?
To get info, she has to copy files from a security company to drive. Huh?
Later, load spyware to said outfit. Say wha? The company has no malware protection?
More? Each episode bears a title, which turns out to be a reveal or, worse, a spoiler!
On and on and on and on. Clichés stack into each other.
The writers are sloths, the story predictable, with characters you want to shove into a garbage truck.
Vampire Doll - 1970 - 4/10
AKA - Bloodsucking Doll - Bloody Eyes // 幽霊屋敷の恐怖 血を吸う人形
Cliché ridden horror film.
Boyfriend arrives at spooky house only to learn his fiancee just died!
Or did she?
Next, his sister arrives, looking for her brother (that boyfriend) because he’s been gone a week now.
The mother is remote and warns all visitors to leave, while the deranged servant keeps trying to murder everyone. (Good staff is so hard to find.)
Add a creepy doctor, sinister music, thunder and lightning, gravedigger, empty grave, the basement, cliff fights, chases.
Nothing new here, though it went by quick enough.
Huxley, Aldous - Antic Hay
Bored with teaching, Theodore Gumbril resigns from the school in order to …
He’s not quite sure. Money would be nice, more rather than less.
Brainstorm flash, Theodore decides to make and market pneumatic pants, an inflatable bottom for bony arsed wearers.
This is the funniest line in the novel, along with marketing expert who knows every trick to convince distracted buyers that pneumatic pants are must-own accessories!
The novel itself is a prickly experience.
Set after the Great War (never mentioned), the main characters, once Bright Young Things, are aimless and adrift. Nothing seems to engage them.
They are affluent. No need of employment to distract their moods or occupy their time.
By and large, they ridicule and belittle others – friends and associates.
Few characters emerge as sympathetic, nor is there enough “character” in any to admire or despise.
La Llorona - 2019 - 6/10
She pushes through the mob of demonstrators, past the police barricade, the new maid.
The regime of the military dictator is over, and although his mind is slipping, he is on trial for war crimes.
Family members pray for a “just’ verdict.
Family are, of course, “ignorant” of his methods used to find and exterminate guerrilla insurgents.
Slow boil story of unsettled spirits and, perhaps, reckonings.
I found the latter aspect difficult to swallow. For me, the bad sleep well and are rarely punished.
I bear witness to misdeeds daily, in the office, in the checkout lane, in the news.
Justice? Karma? Constructs that serve to barely keep impulses restrained.
Tiger In The Smoke - 1956 - 5/10
Brit Noir set in the foggiest locations ever.
On the eve of her marriage, a woman’s presumed dead husband contacts her.
Scotland Yard tries to intervene, but the husband is elusive.
Also gliding in and out of the fog is a notorious escaped murder, Jack Havoc.
Despite murders, captures, fisticuffs, the plot is marred by long exposition sections.
Stellar photography, and I think the premise is decent, but overall much too talky.
Lovelace - 2013 - 7/10
Fairly absorbing drama on star of Deep Throat, focusing on her nubile early years and stardom peak.
Ugly, but not as vile as it could have been. A surprisingly strong cast throughout.
Very much in the Boogie Nights vein, but definitely lighter.
I saw the original Deep Throat back in the 70’s at Hollywood Blvd’s Pussycat Theater.
Part of a double bill with The Devil In Miss Jones.
The Pussycat was terribly plush, and never fully dark. Ushers prowled ceaselessly.
Aisles were packed with couples - porn was in its heyday. The era when free love hippies gave way to disco clubrats.
Lovelace caught a lot of that vibe. From the weed to polyester to wide lapels.
A fun film, perhaps because I had good memories.
The Ghost Story - 1979 - 6/10
AKA - Gui Jiao Chun // 鬼叫春
“It’s getting late, children, now go to bed.”
“Good! Now you can start telling the spicy stories.”
And so, the village grandfather proceeds to tell several naughty tales.
Three sisters run a country inn. When troops arrive, private delicacies are offered.
Villagers shake their heads, but do not interfere.
In another tale, lusty men are attracted to tiny shoes, which slip off so easily, as do the clothes.
Easy females, not always the safest option. Prudes – nudity galore.
This is laugh out loud funny and a great Shaw Brothers film.
A Simple Story - 1978 - 7/10
AKA - Une Historie Simple
Marie, above, caught at the moment when she dumps her going-nowhere boyfriend.
French drama of relationships, primarily female relationships.
Most of the women work in the same company, which has recently merged with another.
Workers face redundancies, management tries to gloss unpleasantness.
The females are more like sisters, venting on each other, or lending support, emotional or physical.
Males are not caricatures, though they are secondary. This is very much a chick bonding film.
Very good vehicle, by the way, to catch Romy Schneider.
The Thief Of Baghdad - 1924 - 8/10
Fairbanks towering achievement, with eye popping stunts, incredible sets, and rousing action.
Lowly street thief falls in love with (completely out of his league) princess.
Meanwhile, encroaching Mongols plot to take over Baghdad.
Redemption, and the royal hand, can be gained through severe trials and heroic deeds.
One of those films for those who say, “I don’t like Silent Films.”
Magnificent, and great entertainment.
Malevolent - 2018 - 6/10
Sister-brother, Angela and Jackson, rescue owners of troubled homes.
Houses ghosted by unhappy spirits, restless souls.
They cleanse dwellings … for a price. They are also complete frauds.
The latest client lives in Scotland’s hinterlands, the building is an old school, not derelict, but neglected.
And - there is definitely something wrong with the place.
Good thriller - not necessarily horror - with dark twists throughout, and shady lead characters.
A Florida Enchantment - 1914 - 6/10
Lillian, come into her inheritance, journeys from New York to Florida to advise Fred there is no impediment to their marriage.
Fred is part of a posh hotel, and duties include indulging wealthier females.
Which Lillian observes.
Enter the MacGuiffin. A box containing 100 year old tribal seeds – which can cause sex reversal.
Naturally, Lillian swallows a seed. Well, she was really irate.
Soon, she becomes a predatory feMALE.
She also force feeds seeds down her maid and fiancé Fred.
What follows is a cascade of sex-reversal, transgender comic innuendo.
I imagine 1914 audiences tittered at this, but now much of the humor is dated caricatures and stereotypes.
Modern audiences, often intolerant and judgmental of previously accepted norms, may scorn this.
In other words, know thyself.
The Mill And The Cross - 2011 - 7/10
AKA - Mlyn i Krzyz
Arthouse cinema with Rutger Hauer, Michael York and Charlotte Rampling.
Deliberately paced film shows the creation of Bruegel’s The Way To Calvary.
Hauer, as Bruegel, explains to his patron (York) various aspects of the composition.
Tree of Life on one side, Tree of Death (catherine wheel) balanced on the other.
I was ignorant of Flemish history and couldn’t understand why red garbed Spanish conquistadors were killing heretics.
Looked it up, the start of the Eighty Years War for Dutch independence was imminent.
Every image was a jeweled painting in costume and design.
Film fell somewhere between Monk’s Book Of Days and Parajanov’s The Color Of Pomegranates.
Tell Me Something - 1999 - 7/10
AKA - Telmi Sseomding // 텔 미 썸딩
One of the two films that launched S Korea into global cinema (Shiri being the other).
Slick, stylized police horror / thriller manipulates genre tropes throughout.
Black plastic bags containing chopped bodies keep turning up.
Unfortunately, heads, torsos, arms, legs, don’t match.
After dismemberment, someone jumbles them before bagging.
There is a pattern, and a common link.
All the bodies - men - had dated, and broken up with, one woman.
The daughter of a reclusive artist, she hides secrets.
Meanwhile, the case detective is under investigation for taking bribes. Both souls are deeply flawed.
Rain pours constantly, and interiors are gloomy, mirroring the emotional unhappiness of the characters.
Some have compared this with Se7en, and it does resemble early Fincher, but this is no copycat.
Inside The Mind Of Agatha Christie - 2019 - 6/10
The mistress of murder, profiled in 45”.
For newcomers to Christie, this covers it all:
The first marriage, her disappearance, years in the Middle East, various residences.
Talking heads include historians and family members.
For most, I suspect, this will be old hat.
I have never read her novels, only a few stories, “The Mousetrap,” TV and film adaptations.
Nevertheless, I knew the whole history.
My favorite part were the comments about her notebooks.
Deconstructing her methods, choices, and plotting. That, to me, was “inside the mind.”
Unforgivable - 2011 - 5/10
AKA - Impardonnables
Aging French writer suffers block and opts to recharge in Venice.
After one year, he has a young wife, and his grown daughter has run away … again.
He hires a detective to find his daughter, then hires another to trail his wife.
No, it was not as interesting as is sounds. Snooze inducing narrative, boring characters, offset by nice shots of Venice.
For diehard French film buffs.
Have not started this yet, but Spy City (6 part series) might interest you.
BSG
Bloodride - 2020 - 6/10
Six part horror omnibus from Norway. Each episode thirty minutes.
A family, new to the hamlet, discovers prosperity can be bartered for.
One’s perfect life, a girl realizes, can be ruined by a petty scribbler.
As with most anthologies, quality varies, with the bookends being the strongest.
The new teacher, open and enthusiastic, starts digging into a buried mystery.
Then there’s the office party. My God! in any country, these are insufferable.
Bad enough we have to work with these people, but get drunk with them? Please.
Oh, did I say office party from Hell?
Murder In Collioure - 2015 - 6/10
AKA - Meurtres à Collioure
A body, stuffed in a wooden barrel, packed with nails and glass shards, rolls down a steep hill.
Yeah, another grisly yet imaginative murder in the French countryside.
The local detective is assigned a partner from a nearby province.
I was hopeful for a bit. The assigned partner struck me as old enough to be the detective’s father.
Plus, the female detective lived with another woman. So, perhaps the door to romance was sealed.
No such luck.
Police procedural, rather creative, with more energetic writing, and diverse yet memorable characters.
For all that, this remains a formula, weekend mystery.
Dragon Swamp - 1969 - 6/10
AKA - 毒龍潭
Vintage Shaw Brothers movie that itself is a throwback to an earlier, less bloody, era.
Plot involves the theft of a magical jade sword, with which the holder can control the martial arts world. In effect, the universe!
That said, the sword also is cursed and means doom for those who wield it.
Not as much fighting and swordsplay as one might expect, though there were a couple highly choreographed and stylized battles.
Main character, Qing-erh, is one of the most gullible and trusting females around.
She is also an orphan. Her family was severed by the sword when she was an infant, but as she starts hunting for the blade she makes fateful encounters.
A lot of fun, though I imagine part of the enjoyment depends on your tolerance for old school Hong Kong movies.