Vultural

Snow Queen - 2002 - 6/10

Nice Winter movie with no holiday overtones.
Bridget Fonda plays the icy Snow Queen to perfection.
The narrative involves a young girl pursuing her boyfriend who has been “taken” by the Snow Queen.
At three hours, the movie is too long, and visits to “Spring,” “Summer,” and “Autumn” are little more than childish comic relief.
Worth watching for Fonda and her brittle performance, but this would be better chiseled to two hours or less.
Fonda’s last performance to date.

The Man Who Invented Christmas - 2017 - 6/10

Fabricated confection imagines how Charles Dickens came to write “A Christmas Carol.”
Stray facts mixed with literary license and a heavy dollop of treacle.
Dickens’ marriage is still rather happy at this time, though his wife’s fecundity causes financial strain.
A couple literary flops does not help matters, either.
The film effectively shows how writers file away stray comments, interesting events, details.
Other elements are eye rolling fluff.
Not necessarily a holiday movie, it is definitely feel good material.
Christopher Plummer is a sardonic Scrooge. Dan Stevens tolerable as Dickens.

Camera Store - 2017 - 6/10

1994, Christmas Eve day. Amateur hour for procrastinating shoppers.
Set inside a mall back when malls were popular and people still bought film rolls.
Change is in the air, however. Digital.
The two burnouts who run the dying store have squandered their ideas, their dreams, their youth.
Despite some acid dialogue, this Yule timed yarn is devoid of good will toward men.
Christmas, mean spirited and most unmerry.
Production screams theatre play.

Secret Agent X-9 - 1945 - 7/10

Thirteen part Universal serial with Lloyd Bridges, Jan Wiley and Keye Luke.
Action takes place on Shadow Island, only independent “nation” in the China Sea.
Nest of spies, agents, saboteurs, criminals, gamblers.
Japanese - Nazis - Aussies - Chinese - Yanks know who is who and clash accordingly.
Plot revolves around the Japanese pursuit of 722. The Allies have no idea what that is, but they are determined to discover and thwart.
Fairly realistic, as far as serials go. No jokes, no comic elements. Cold blooded killings occur.
Much of the story occurs at night, so most scenes are dark. Few cheats.

Scatter My Ashes At Bergdorf’s - 2013 - 6/10

Sometimes you sit through films selected by other team members because it’s Christmas.
Other times you’re a lazy fool.
High sheen, congratulatory documentary on glittering, high priced department store catering to the very rich.
Stunning to look at, though prices never shown (it is revealed a good sales clerk - excuse me, personal buyer - can earn $400,000 - $500,000 a year).
Much attention is given to the annual holiday display windows.
Everyone is either an employee, a designer whose fashions are there, or a designer who wishes their fashion line to get picked up.
Balanced documentary? Not so much.
Hyper-consumerism porn.

Murder At Christmas - 2014 - 6/10

During Yule revels, Joanna Yeates, a bubbly, sunshine in a bottle lass, disappears in Bristol.
Surveillance cameras capture most of her movements on 17 December, on into her flat.
Her body was found Christmas Day, strangled.
Lightweight documentary poorly captures details or motivations.
Explanations for the culprit are sketchy.
Sad, especially considering the season, but oddly indifferent.
Not mentioned was the shockingly awful press coverage.

Amalfi: Rewards Of The Goddess - 2009 - 6/10
AKA - Amarufi: Megami no hôshû / アマルフィ 女神の報酬[

Touristy thriller follows Japanese diplomat Kuroda as he helps prepare for G8 summit in Italy.
He gets sidetracked when a small girl is kidnapped. Distractingly so. The mother, who was art-gazing instead of watching her daughter is over emotional, antagonistic, and irresponsible.
I pity the diplomat and kept thinking, “She wants to go it alone, let her.”
The film cannot escape its television roots, despite spectacular photography. It feels like a two part series.
First hour pursues the kidnapping, the second broadens into conspiracy.
The photography, by the way, is stunning. Picture postcard of Italy - minus those pesky tourists.
When did they film? 5:00 - 6:00 AM?
Enjoyable, though lightweight.
I never figured out what the “goddess" of the translated title meant.
There were no Greco-Roman deities, no plus sized women.
Events occurred during the Christmas season, so this might be an alternative for jaded holiday viewers.
Oh yeah - Sarah Brightman alert. “Time To Say Goodbye” . . . twice.

Marianne - 2019 - 6/10

French series tiptoes a thin line between the horror labyrinth and Young Adult.
Enfante terrible, novelist Emma, returns to her small hometown after a harrowing in-store event.
For years she has channeled her demons into best selling novels of a witch.
Only the witch may not be merely her imagination, but a malevolence gathering strength.
Emma is one of the most toxic characters you will likely encounter.
She is also a classic jinx, tainting all within her sphere.
In real life, you would shun her, or she would be a successful politician.
Horrific moments, along with exasperating ones.

Beauty And The Fellow - 2015 - 7/10
AKA - Bijo To Danshi // 美女と男子

Irresistible, infectious J-dorama of the fools gold that is filmed entertainment.
Sawatari works in the IT department for a major conglomerate.
Arrogant, opinionated, rude, she is unpopular. And finds herself transferred.
She is sent to an “investment,” a tiny, third rate talent agency.
The biggest star is a one-hit wonder from thirty years previous.
Undaunted, she tries to find fresh talent, and sets out to understand the entertainment industry.
For fans of this type (eg: Day For Night), there is a tremendous amount of backstage doings.
Work as an extra, bit parts, lead role in a cheap, late night program.
As with most J-doramas, there is a degree of “japaneseness,” meaning this show was created for the home market, and not with an eye toward a Western audience.
Central themes of teamwork and family come to the fore.
At 20 episodes, this does breathe a bit, and all characters, even those in a few episodes, contribute meaningfully.
Emotional roller coaster at times. No tears, as found in K-dramas. Just dreams fulfilled or destroyed.
Guilty pleasure, this.

If subtitles are needed, I heavily reworked marsa’s original subs.
Removed all overlapping lines, broke up over-long lines, corrected minor spelling errors, clarified syntax
and Westernized grammar. Also used Yekaterina Sobkov’ya’s translation for “Step By Step.”
Available – https://sub.imvsdata.com/subtitles/bijo-to-danshi/english/2051104

Orchestra Class - 2017 - 6/10
AKA - La Mélodie

Out of work concert violinist accepts a school position.
Teaching junior high (middle school) students to play violin.
The class seems primarily immigrant children, many disruptive and argumentative.
So, the instructor has got his work cut out.
Oh wait! One of the children appears gifted!
Hey! There will be an end of term concert!
Will youngsters who don’t even know how to hold a violin, let alone fingering, be ready?
Feel good material, better than Hollywood schmaltz. Different, but on par with Swing Girls.

Bright Leaves - 2003 - 7/10

Gaze longingly, nicotine fiends. Green fields of burley.
Ross McElwee documentary about the decline of great grandfather’s empire, and tobacco itself.
The sire brought out the Durham Bull blend, crushed when Duke released pre-rolled Bull Durham cigarettes.
Duke today is a charitable foundation, a university, global empire, and probably the cause of millions of cancer deaths.
McElwee is forgotten, though survives in an old Gary Cooper film, Bright Leaf (that was blend that grew in North Carolina).
This follows the typical meandering pace of all Ross McElwee docs, delivered in his soft Southern cadence, and his usual wit.
Definitely worth seeing, though Sherman’s March is McElwee’s most accessible flick and the one to hunt down.

Iron Sky: Director’s Cut - 2012 - 6/10

Nazis! On the Moon!
A battalion of the Third Reich fled WWII aftermath and hid out on the dark side of the Moon.
Sixty years later, their base is discovered and they launch blitzkrieg.
Funny satire with great looking old school contraptions.
Political / military humor was dead on, Sarah Palin lookalike as gun totin’ US President! What’s not to like?
Other elements felt forced. Example: the racial purity storyline.
Still quite funny with unexpectedly nice SciFi action sequences.
The Director’s Cut added additional special effects after early profits rolled in.
The sequel … dear me …. How could the creative team have stumbled so ineptly?

The Sign Of Four - 1932 - 6/10

Downright creaky rendition of the detective mystery.
Arthur Wontner looks like the oldest filmed Holmes, though resemblance to the Paget drawings is uncanny.
This comes across, to this viewer, as a bridge between the theatre versions (Gillette, Saintsbury), and Universal adaptations (Rathbone).
This may prove too modern for purists, as there are motorcars, as well as speedboats.
There are also a few elements from other stories cobbled in.
Nevertheless, this is well done. You could do a lot worse.

Grave Robbers - 1989 - 6/10
AKA - Ladrones de Tumbas

The Holy Inquisition prepares to execute a Satanist.
“You wait! I will be back! Generations from now, I will – aarrgghh.”
Sure enough, 300 years later a truckload of twenty year olds break into the cemetery.
Nearby, four girls set up their campsite. And – two peasants saunter in their horses.
What’s that add up to? Lots of killin’, Fred.
Mexican horror film borrows from dozens of films. Who cares?
Mayhem in the cemetery, in the crypt, in the graveyard, in the desert, in the church.
This dashes merrily along, full of energy, blood everywhere.

Football’s Fight Club - 2002 - 7/10

Two part BBC documentary about the rise of football hooligans in the 70’s.
Casuals, firms, riots on the island and abroad.
Comprehensive and well done.
The copy I saw left much to be desired, as it came from a YouTube broadcast.
Essential viewing for rowdier viewers to look for themselves!

A Lonely Place To Die - 2011 - 6/10

Pursuit thriller set in the Scottish highlands.
Group of vacationing mountain climbers discovered a kidnapped child.
They free, only to discover the kidnappers are murderous.
The chase is on, and our increasingly stupid climbers barely keep one step ahead of the kidnappers.
The “victim” was an annoying, shrill screamer, and the climbers kept yelling, “Where are you? Where are you?” every time they eluded their trackers.
Plot twists were fairly unexpected, location shots were great, story is formula.

Joseon X-Files - 2010 - 7/10
AKA - Gichalbirok // 기찰비록

Young official is hired by Imperial house to investigate unexplained phenomena.
He gets a superstitious strong man cop for muscle, and teams with a scientific, medical female.
Their boss is a chain smoking (pipe) shadowy man who always knows much more than they do.
Sound familiar? Except this riff on the X-Files is set in 17th century Joseon (Korea).
Twelve episodes that include extra-terrestrials, alternate realities, witchcraft, political cults, and a couple head scratchers.
Definitely worth tracking down if you are a jonesin’ for fresh Mulder and Scully fare.

Friday Night - 2002 - 7/10
AKA - Vendredi Soir

Laure packs up her apartment and prepares to move in with François.
Drives through rain soaked Paris where, owing to a subway strike, streets are snarled.
Motorists are urged to help out, pick up passengers, if possible.
Laure offers a ride to a heavy set man, one a little rough around the edges.
Gradually, within the claustrophobic car interior, and the man’s sporadic nervous energy, Laure wonders what she had invited in.
Haunting film evokes loneliness and the nocturnal hours better than known, themed works.
Snatches of scenes pass by constantly. Fellow drivers, pedestrians, lovers, shoppers, diners.
Individuals making their way through the city stream, of whom we are the onlookers.

Damsels In Distress - 2011 - 5/10

Forgettable “comedy” about a group of girls who man the Suicide Prevention building at Seven Oaks College.
Completely all over the map, as the damsels try to improve fellow students, educate frat boys, succumb to romantic perils, invent dance routine.
Dialog preposterously overwritten, arch and conflated. Nobody - nobody - talks like that. Not even in a Shepard or Stoppard play.
I saw this because I had enjoyed director Stillman’s previous works (Metropolitan, Barcelona, even Last Days Of Disco), but those were all from the 90’s.
Damsels reeks of comeback desperation.

Carmilla - 2019 - 6/10

While the story is set in Victorian times, the film evokes the Regency countryside.
Young Lara is bitterly disappointed when Charlotte has become mysteriously ill and cannot visit.
Soon enough, however, a nearby carriage accident leaves a lovely guest recuperating in her home.
Carmilla. Who cannot remember her family, or where she came from.
As Carmilla settles in, Lara becomes smitten while the household is unsettled.
Beautiful, dream like film may move too slowly for impatient viewers.
Much is unspoken, more is repressed, leaving this a film open to interpretation.

The Corpse Packs His Bags - 1972 - 6/10
AKA - Der Todesrächer von Soho

Soon to depart hotel guests find someone has thoughtfully packed their bags!
Alas, once outside, those soon to depart become the dearly departed, thanks to a thrown knife.
Scotland Yard investigates.
Hang on. The inspector contacts a friend, a best selling mystery author, and a photographer. Next, the doctor who was at the scene, except the inspector is more interested in getting the receptionist out of her glasses.
Everyone frequents a nightclub which is a front and run by shadowy types.
Stories spin out in all directions. The narrative is incoherent. I lost track of why the killings were occurring.
Many belittle this as another lame Jess Franco effort, but it is not a bad film.
True, the plot makes no sense, but it is entertaining and the humor is sly.
Better than most of the late cycle Krimi films I have watched.

Swing Girls - 2004 - 7/10
AKA - スウィングガールズ

Charming, feel good story of summer school underachievers wandering into a swing group.
When the school band gets ill, a group of girls agree to learn instruments to encourage the baseball team.
Terrible are the results.
A stubborn handful persevere and practice outside stores, in karaoke clubs, along the river.
For those of you who were ever in high school band, you will recall the scales, the warmup, the endless rehearsals.
And just like your own experience, within six months they are in a groove.
Innocent film that ends with a rousing flourish. Play loud.

Pieces Of Me - 2012 - 6/10
AKA - Des Morceaux de Moi

IMDB reads “mother-daughter” film, but this is coming of age.
Younger daughter, Erell, is increasingly frustrated by high maintenance mom, who suffers MS.
She lives in small village, her friends are resigned or simply going nowhere.
Everyday, the same ole, same ole.
Until her older sister returns after a four year absence.
As Erell narrates, “Things are the same, but they are not the same.”
One aspect I enjoyed was watching the “kids” (17-19) strike out, break free.
No idea how common this is in France, or Europe.
Now, in the States, 30 year old offspring are still dependent on parents.
Aside from that observation, while this was well acted, I was never engaged.

A Hard Days Night - 1964 - 9/10

Classic film capturing the Beatles during their meteoric, giddying ascent.
Funny, witty, irreverent, featuring great songs, gear clothes, posh clubs …
The lads would continue to grow in fame and importance, but there is something especially exciting about this period, when they were streaking to heights unknown.
So many of my young friends and colleagues assumed the Fab Four were Sgt Pepper or The White Album.
No so. The early period was essential, and terrific fun.
The final 12 minutes or so, the concert, Richard Lester somehow, brilliantly, capture lightning in a bottle.
Sheer exuberance, and a tonic.

Bram Stoker’s Dracula: Silent (Coppola’s 1992 film) - Paulisdead2221

The Coppola classic, transformed into a pre 20’s Silent film.
An inspired reworking, though not without faults.
First - and many members commented on this during the “in progress” stage - the font for the inter-titles is difficult to read and the type is too small. Adding to this, the inter-titles often disappear before one is able to digest them.
Second - the original two hour running time has been condensed to one hour. Events rush at a furious pace so that the narrative is often confused. Newcomers to the story will be lost.
Better, there are two Philip Glass scores available. The Kronos Quartet and the solo piano from the restored 1931 Dracula.
The color tinting on this is magnificent, from enhancing the mood for specific scenes to coloring a flash of lightning or tiny detail.
Faneditor “Paulisdead2221“ shines here.
Recommended, though anticipate those inter-titles.