Vultural

Vanquisher - 2009 - 4/10
AKA - Suay Samurai // สวย…ซามูไร

I started watching this with others, finished watching alone.
Heard muttering about, " … another one of his winners … "
Absurd Thai actioner begins as CIA sends hottie Thai op to kidnap a Muslim insurgent for the Russians.
Within five minutes, the time frame is two years later, and hottie is sent to eliminate another radical.
From there, confusion reigns.
A pair of Japanese hitmen get involved, as do an army of sword swinging ninjas.
There are a couple of lush female Thai cops (on either side of the conflicts), three Muslim chicks with scimitars, a dozen Thai black op agents on underpowered, put-put motorscooters, a samurai master, and absolutely no plot whatsoever.
Everyone was fighting … for … I’m not sure what.
This got awful reviews, I still watched it.
Loser.

Romulus - 2020 - 6/10

Boldly imaginative take on the founders of Rome.
Note. This is pre-Rome. No coliseums, no columns. Straw huts and animal skins.

Straight off, I was baffled. Who were these characters? Plus, there were so many!
Not to worry, characters are drawn in broad strokes, and a fair percentage are killed early on.
After awhile, I was glad I stayed with this, as I perceived what the producers were doing.
Big points there. The final episode, however, proved deeply unsatisfying to most.
Latin majors, rejoice! Ten episodes, spoken in the Classical language!

Howl - 2015 - 6/10

Midnight train to Eastborough slams to a stop in the Thornton forest.
Bickering, querulous passengers soon realize they are stranded and become prey.
Predictable (I guessed early meals, and called the survivor). Limitations disguised with rain, fog and low light.
Unlike Dog Soldiers, no humor, and characters are weak, annoying or simply undeveloped.
Much as I hoped, Allen Ginsberg never appears.
Wolf pack, queue up.

London: Modern Babylon - 2012 - 6/10

Flashy arthouse film / documentary / 100 year history of London.
More or less chronological beginning from 1900.
Edits newsreel footage, silent films, movies, interviews, converts, dancing like a skipping stone on events of the last 100 years.
WWI, the Blitz, Swinging London, 2011 riots, are covered, as well as the changing face of the city.
London, the quintessential “English” city at the beginning, emerges as a multi cultural megapolis by the end.
Very well done, but a bit wearying, like viewing a two hour music video.
Sensory overload to be sure.

Laurel Canyon - 2020 - 7/10

Rosy tinted nostalgia of Los Angeles neighborhood, circa 1965-1971, when musicians roamed.
This is more free-wheeling and more substantive than 2018’s “vanity doc” by Dylan’s kid.
Straight off, Joni Mitchell is included, as are Love, the Doors, even Alice Cooper (early Zappa signee).
Youthful photos and images are shown while current voices recollect.
One sees the artists during their creative peak, not after the progression of decades.

The second part opens with the demise of the 60’s: Manson family, Kent State, Altamont.
Narrative cruises into the 70’s, with Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, The Eagles.
Some have voiced the second half is a downer. Not really. Tastes and fashions change.
Chronology of the doc is somewhat massaged, but not overly so.

Let’s Get Lost - 1988 - 7/10

After watching Ethan Hawke’s well meaning, but sweetened portrayal of Chet Baker, I dug out this blunt alternative.
The face and soul of chronic addiction.

Difficult, at times abrasive, portrayal of the performer, something of a cult figure.
Flashbacks, old photos, recent performances.
Candid answers and ruminations from Mr. Baker are contrasted with corrections from fellow sidemen and the women in his life.
Mother, one of his wives, his daughter, two girlfriends.
This is a beautiful film, gorgeous in black and white, but it is something of an art project.
Director Bruce Weber sticks to his conceit of withered beauty, focusing on time and heroin’s ravage of the Prince of Cool
A haunting viewing experience, though it is not a documentary, and certainly not a biography.
Let’s Get Lost is more Bruce Weber, and less Chet Baker.

Confession, I’m a huge fan of Chet Baker. I have close to sixty recordings and I’m still buying titles of his.
A poignant artist of despair and regret, especially in his mature years.

Searching For Sugarman - 2012 - 7/10

If you are a music fan, like a hardcore collector, you are always searching for new.
Or forgotten, or overlooked. You don’t want mainstream, that’s for the herd.
Documentary about the obscure Detroit musician, Rodriguez.
He released two albums in the early 70’s. Both sank like stones.
One night, so the story went, angry, despondent, Rodriguez killed himself onstage in front of a bored crowd. No one knew him, no one missed him.
Except in South Africa where he had been massively popular. And he had never known.
Film follows the trail. Who was Rodriguez? What happened to him?
This one really pulls you in, partly for the mystery, partly because his music is surprisingly good.

Born To Be Blue - 2015 - 6/10

Iffy musing on Chet Baker’s “missing years.”
Between the glamorous, youthful heyday and the stubborn comeback.
The years when his teeth were knocked out and he had to rebuild his embouchure.
This is not a biopic proper. The girlfriend is a composite of Halema, Diane and Ruth.
Bit careless on chronology, too. And the ending – no.
Credit to filmmakers for trying to show the unpleasant side of Baker to balance the talent.
They did not go far enough, though, and this is too feel goody for my understanding of Mr Baker.

The Whales Of August - 1987 - 7/10

Two frail, elderly sisters rest in their seaside cottage, and reflect on the passage of time.
To paraphrase, how could we ever grow so old?
One (Bette Davis) is sharp tongued, somewhat bitter, and resigned to the Reaper.
The other (Lillian Gish) still makes plans, intends to enjoy what time remains.
Casual remarks and observations of those who have dropped from the Parade, those who have withered.
Vincent Price plays an impoverished aristocrat from Czarist Russia (the film occurs @ 1950‘s).
The language and manners reflect the earlier, more gracious period.
Perhaps better for old viewers. My wife and I, both in our 30’s at that time, blew this off when it first screened. Decades on, we may not be ready to shuffle off, but we can sense the Reaper’s shadow.

ZerØ Days - 2016 - 7/10

Excellent documentary of the Stuxnet computer worm, discovered by Kaspersky iin 2010.
Without spoiling too much, evidence is fairly clear this was a government operation.
This was an early salvo in cyber warfare. Target, nuclear centrifuges.
Aftermath - the global proliferation of national cyber divisions.
Dozens of security folk interviewed, security firms and spymasters.
Do not hope for confession or clarity.
Coding jargon is basic 101, not overly technical (though I paused twice to answer questions).
For those who shrug, “This does not affect me,” au contraire. Targets include electrical grids, nuclear plants, dams, banking systems, hospitals, damn near anything with power and a micro processor.

Anna Karenina - 2012 - 4/10

Opulent, gaudy, stilted, mannered adaptation of Tolstoy’s novel undone by profound miscasting.
This is a very theatrical interpretation, as in much occurs on a theatre stage.
Characters often move as if performing ballet.
Knightley, once again, attempts a role she is too young for.
She is incapable of gravitas, but her trademarked pursed lips, squinty grin appears over and over.
Received well deserved accolades for sets and costumes.
Taylor-Johnson, playing Vronsky as a sissified fop, resembles Gene Wilder’s Doctor Frankensteen.

Hagy, Jessica - One Morning

“Did you enjoy that book?” asked Zelda.
“Yes, quite a bit. The book has twelve chapters, one for each hour of that day, for each woman. “Midnight: Helena,” “One in the morning: Ruth,” “Two in the morning: Agnes” …
We read what happens with each during that particular hour, a bit of back story, interior monologue, possible trajectory. By chapter three, you start to see how the women, their stories, weave and intersect.”
“I love books like that!”
“And this is masterfully constructed,” I said. “Better, it occurs in a part of the world you know.”
“Oh?”
“An area outside Pittsburgh.”
“I’ve never been there,” she said.
“A pocket community in Appalachia, where coal has been dug out to where the land is unstable, the water is toxic, and the mining jobs have dried up.”
“The same mountain range where you grew up. Where I’ve visited dozens of times. Yes, I know the area. And I love the size of the book. It is perfect for reading. Set it aside, I want to read it.”

Burroughs (Arena) - 1983 - 7/10

Penetrating, if difficult biography of William Burroughs.
Childhood, the Burroughs name, the William Tell incident, drug use, travels, sex, all check listed.
Being 1983, many interviewees were still alive (including Burroughs’ son) and they were blunt.
One memorable scene has him showing his defensive weapons in his bunker. Knives, blackjacks, and of course, guns.
College readings (*) were problematic for me, as listening to his prose seemed harder to decipher compared with reading.
Burroughs’ growling snarl might be an acquired taste. Nonetheless, this is an excellent overview of the man a good decade before he died.

(*) Seeing some of the readings, I began wondering who current students listen to.
Not the corporate shills, media celebrities, or pop culture scribes. The poets, the literary masters, the underground.
Do junior and senior year intelligentsia value any literary elders enough to listen to?
Salman Rushdie? Joan Didion? Thomas Ligotti?

School For Unclaimed Girls - 1970 - 5/10
AKA - The Smashing Bird I Used To Know

Lo-watt exploitation snoozer might fall into “women in prison” category, but … c’mon.
Remand girls live in a rather posh dorm, have a pillow fight, have the dreaded shower sequence (above).
Oh yeah, our heroine, Nicki, finds herself there after stabbing Mom’s boyfriend when he tried to rape her.
Never mind he’s a grinning sleaze, and Mom a lonely bed bouncer with a checking account.
Glossy MGM sudser has barely any energy and is way too posh to be a trashy frolic.
Missed opportunity, since, clearly, production funds were enough for ten authentic poverty row flicks.
Writer director Hartford-Davis lensed similar twaddle in the 60’s.
“See! wild youth of today!!” except his yarns were behind the curve and out of step.

Savages - 2012 - 6/10

Reefer wars movie, directed by Oliver Stone, who was apparently watching too many Tarentino flicks.
Mexican drug cartel tries to muscle in on boutique, California growers, expecting them to roll over and agree to anything.
Kidnappings, ambushes, and gunplay follow in due course.
I watched the unrated version. Violence and mayhem, no nudity.

Stone is usually good providing background info, but that was lacking in this film.
The reason Mexican cartels are trying to get a foothold in the States is because their product, slagged in the States as “pedro” is losing marketshare to US grown “hydro.” Latter being more potent, and more expensive.
As more states decriminalize, then legalize, marijuana, cartels lose power and influence (ref: mobsters during Prohibition). So the argument goes.
Stone barely touched this area, and it would have made the plot more coherent, and character motivations clearer.
The premise that a band of stoners, even ex military, could take on a powerful cartel is difficult to accept.

Fantômas - 1964 - 5/10

Playful adaptation of the legendary French villain.
Again and again, the criminal mastermind thwarts the police.
It does not help that the police are led by the over-confident, bombastic Inspector Juve (Louis de Funès).
Here, Fantômas wears the blue mask, deploys technology, and has a sumptuously appointed lair.

There are echoes of James Bond throughout, but the plotting is feeble.
Indeed, there are too many chase sequences and the final one goes on for 20 minutes!
OK to watch (Jean Marais as Fantômas is memorable), and yet this does not eclipse the 1913 classics.

Julieta - 2016 - 7/10

Stellar return to form from Pedro Almodóvar.
Older woman, on the verge of leaving Madrid for Portugal, suddenly decides to remain.
She returns to a previous residence then sets about writing a journal - memoir about her relationships with her mother, husband, daughter. All lost.
Writing is part therapy, part confession, meant for the daughter whom she has not seen in over a decade.
The narrative time slips, settings shift, and two different actors portray Julieta.
Much of the tone, indeed the whole music score, is reminiscent of a Douglas Sirk thriller.
There are no throwaway scenes in this, either, and several are outright magical.
The story pulls the viewer irresistibly into a past often shrouded with guilt and self deception.
For me, the best Almodóvar since Talk To Her (2002).

Sinister - 2012 - 6/10

Promising thriller missteps early, succumbs to cliché, tired writing, formula.
True crime writer (aarrgghh, another plot with that most boring main character, the writer), Ethan Hawke, moves family into home where previous family was mass murdered.
Of course, he neglects to tell his wife any of those details.
In no time flat, he discovers cans of film reels, disturbing clues, and bumps in the night.
Does he move the family out? Ha, silly.
OK enough production, but the plot has been done dozens of times.

Les Témoins - 2015 - 7/10
AKA - Witnesses

Absorbing French thriller of unearthed corpses, a serial killer, and a wolf.
Parties unknown break into model homes and arrange corpses as family units.
Most of the deceased were freshly dug, a few freshly slain.
Those draw police involvement.
One cop in particular, a famous investigator, comes out of retirement as clues are meant for him.
Not as dark as Scandinavian Noir, but full of surprises and bracing coastal scenery.
Despite a couple of bungles in the final episode, a shrewd interlocking puzzler.

House Of 1000 Dolls - 1967 - 5/10
AKA - La Casa de Las Mil Muñecas

Stunning beauties are being kidnapped by white slavery ring.
Key to this is a smooth magician (Vincent Price) and his wise assistant.
Meanwhile, police close in, as do private investigators, lonely boyfriends …
Good looking film (AIP), but lacks oomph. The “slaves” do little but fidget in negligees.
The story is older than dirt. In fact, Traffic In Souls did this better in 1913.
However … the audio commentary is tremendously entertaining.
David(s) Del Valle and Decoteau discuss Price, George Nader, scandals from Confidential magazine, and story after story of Harry Alan Towers who produced over 100 films, and the tricks and shenanigans associated with him.
The commentary is better, far better, than the film.

Silver Linings Playbook - 2012 - 5/10

Mainstream film I resisted, but was eventually overruled against.
Grieving, dysfunctional widow meets mental case who doesn’t like taking his meds.
Parents are noisy, loud and street spectacles.
In a nutshell, white trash. (Yeah, that ain’t PC.)
When these types are your neighbors, you shun them.
When they are your coworkers, they are generally bosses, and you hate them.
Yet, when a movie is made about them, everyone hollers, “Masterpiece!” and it gets a load of Oscar nods.

Zero Focus - 1961 - 6/10
AKA - Zero no Shôten //ゼロの焦点

After their honeymoon, Kenichi heads off on a business trip and tells his wife he will soon return.
Only he disappears.
After failed investigations, she boards a northbound train northwards, in search of her missing husband.
A cracking pace propels the first half of this film. A pile of jump cuts, hold on!
The pace noticeably slows, however, before long exposition sections snuff the energy.
Other have likened this to Hitchcock, but it lacks the tension.
Seen with the 2009 remake, a couple of plot puzzles are clarified.

13 Minutes - 2015 - 7/10
AKA - Elser

Dramatization of a World War II footnote.
The 1939 assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler that missed by 13 minutes.
Musician, factory worker, seducer, Georg Elser, decides Adolf is putting fellow Germans on a path to ruination.
He devises a powerful bomb with clockwork timer and places it inside the Munich Bürgerbräukeller.
Single-handedly.
The Gestapo disbelieve and intensify interrogations.
Well acted, and cannily arranged chronology maintain interest throughout.
Nagging questions notwithstanding, a strong drama with passing relevance to current events.

The Matrimony - 2007 - 6/10
AKA - 心中有鬼

For many, title is dead giveaway.
Matrimony = Horror film.
Ghost story set in 1930’s Shanghai.
New wife receives orders from her chronically depressed husband: DO NOT venture into a locked room …
Quicker than she can say, “This door is creaky," she channels her inner Pandora.
Lush sets, understated acting, definitely a mood piece, but an old fashioned ghost story.
Main problem is ham fisted sound mix, with music and effects cranked to the max during spooky moments.
Otherwise, decent “Ooooo story.”

Cult Of The Cobra - 1955 - 5/10

Guilty, childhood pleasure here.
Six postwar GI’s do the turista thing in Asia (India) before shipping home.
They hear of the secretive Cult Of The Cobra, lamias who can transform from human to snake.
For $100.00, the men can view the forbidden ceremony. But - - - NO PHOTOS !!
Their guide repeats several times. No photos! No photos!
Guess what happens? Ha ha ha.
Afterward, the now-Stateside ex-GI’s worry about toxic snake bites.
B-film has acceptable curse premise, snooze inducing love angle (sorry, Marshall Thompson is no romantic hunk), yet boasts a slew of future television “faces.”
Within ten years, their shows included “The F.B.I.,” “The Big Valley,” “Daktari,” “Maverick,” “The Fugitive.”