Vultural

Jiro Dreams Of Sushi - 2011 - 7/10
AKA - 小野 二郎

Documentary about tiny, hole in the wall, sushi bar in a Tokyo subway, run by 85 year old Jiro.
The place seats 9, the reservation list is for one month, prices start at ¥30000 yen ($350 - £241 - €304).
No drinks, no appetizers. Just sushi.
Apprenticeship lasts a decade. Michelin gave the place three stars.

Squeamish Alert

Part of the hutong who viewed this - those who selected it - went hysterical when some of the servings were far, far fresher than they had anticipated.
There was screaming in the room and hands over eyes.
You have been warned.

The House Of Mystery - 1923 - 7/10
AKA - La Maison du Mystère

Ten episode silent serial from France.
Straight off, serial rules do not necessarily apply to surviving Silents, likewise European serials.
After marrying his childhood sweetheart, Julien is convicted of murder and sent to Devil’s Island.
While imprisoned, his boyhood friend runs his factory for him, and secretly attempts to seduce his wife.
Events spin out over twenty years, before – during – and after the Great War.
Blackmail, murder attempts, harrowing escapes, fights, disguises.
Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler came out a year before, and may have been an influence, especially with the disguises.
Nonetheless, the French DNA predominates. Interiors, clothing, attitudes.
While only ten parts, each episode runs approximately 40 minutes. Few bonefide cliffhanger endings, though no cheats.
The print I viewed had been immaculately restored, excellently tinted, nicely subbed.

None Shall Escape - 1944 - 6/10

Reichskommissa stands trial before an Allied tribunal for crimes committed in Poland.
Narrative quickly shifts into flashbacks, not to show how he became a monster, but rather how his growing power and influence permitted more heinous activities.
One understood early on, this man was a bitter and rotten soul.
Movie is preachy at times, to be expected, yet note the date.
World War II was ongoing at this point, and victory was not necessarily a foregone conclusion.
Camerawork is impressive throughout, and the story must have been an eye-opener to the home front.
Can’t say I enjoyed this, yet it was impressive, especially considering when this was lensed.

Enter Nowhere - 2011 - 6/10

Perhaps judged over harshly by the Horror boys, Enter Nowhere resembles a lost episode of The Twilight Zone.
During the height of the opening convenience store hold up, the scene cuts to a stranded woman in the forest.
Eventually, the strangers number three. They walk for hours, and end up back at a derelict shack.
There is no easy way out of the forest. Food begins to run out as they start comparing stories and secrets.
An indie thriller with nice twists. I suspect fanboys got mad because there was no gore, no T n A.
There is an Eastwood, however.

Broadway Bad - 1933 - 6/10

Lopsided Pre-Code film starring Joan Blondell.
First half is showgirls in lingerie, risqué humor, nightclubs, rich dandies.
Second half money and lawyers and babies. Crying babies.
Fun romp takes an unwelcome, preachy detour.
C’mon, this is Code, save the moral bit for the final two minutes.
Ginger Rogers costars as loyal friend.

The Man From London - 2007 - 6/10

A railroad switchman catches a shady transaction that concludes in murder.
The killer disappears, as does the victim, yet the McGuffin bobs to the surface. A briefcase, packed with English banknotes.
The switchman, sensing a life changing opportunity, takes the money.
Viewers either adored or loathed film.
Filmed in high contrast black and white, it strives hard to emulate Noir.
With maybe fifty lines of dialogue, this is almost a Silent film.
The pace is incomprehensibly slow. Snail like camera pans, lingering on faces, expressions of stone.
Personally, I found this style mannered.
The story, based on Georges Simenon, is what drew me. As adapted, it boils down to a trifle, a comatose trifle.

Manhunt Of Mystery Island - 1945 - 6/10

Republic serial.
The villain kidnaps two scientists to build him a device to control unlimited planetary energy through radium.
Lance, the lunkheaded hero, could take a punch; he got a pounding every episode.
Luckily Linda Stirling was in the cast to bail him out, or shoot a handful of baddies d-e-a-d.
Fights were better than most because the chief henchman was Kenne Duncan, who was a specialist in leaping, flying though the air fisticuffs.
The head baddie goes by Captain Mephisto, and he has a magic, electrical chair (fan behind that sprays sparks).
With the chair he can transform his features into anyone he chooses.
Does he pick President, movie star, four star general?
Nooo! He opts for the pirate look: tattoo, cutlass, big hat, face scars.

Get Out Your Handkerchiefs - 1978 - 6/10
AKA - Préparez vos Mouchoirs

This “popular in its time” arthouse comedy has dated uncomfortably.
Husband feels is wife is cold, disinterested in life. She also suffers fits and swoons.
Men around him advise she needs to get pregnant. “We’ve tried! For years!”
Soon, the husband approaches a man in the restaurant, and asks if he would like to enjoy his wife.
She has no say in this, nor when a male neighbor gets involved.
Eventually she does find one who inspires her, though this is implausible beyond belief and sexist, to boot.
By design, this is meant to be disturbing, in a comic way, yet social attitudes have altered so much, that I daresay modern audiences will be unable to view this dispassionately, or through the lens of history.
Acting is broad based, appropriate but not relatable.

Houdini: Unlocking The Mystery - 2009 - 6/10

Documentary of Harry Houdini, featuring many magicians.
Vintage newsreels, as well as clips from many of his movies.
What amazed me was the producers unearthed one of his final assistants (Dorothy Young, who died in 2011, aged 103).
Film intercut with auction proceedings of memorabilia.

musiced921 said:

Is there anyone that has a copy that they could share with me?

Is ssj no longer active at FE?

The Spy Who Fell To Earth - 2019 - 7/10

Mesmerizing documentary for history buffs, mystery hounds, conspiracy types.
The unmasking of a superspy who was involved in the Six Day War (1967) and later Yom Kipper War (1973).
Both Israel and Egypt claim Ashraf Marwan was “their guy.”
And seeing how he fell to his death in 2007 (pushed, thrown, jumped), viewers do not hear his side.
Instead, we listen to a passel of talking heads from various security branches – utterly reliable, of course.
The producer does an inspired job of rewinding periodically, establishing contradictory points of view.
I never made up my mind about his loyalty, but my interest never flagged.

Sleeping Beauty - 2011 - 5/10

Somnambulant, artsy excuse for soft core nudity.
College student, working three jobs, decides to work at exclusive dinner parties.
From there, she opts for drugged sleep, allowing wrinkled and bony old men to embrace.
Slow paced and pretentious, with no understanding of character motivations.
Based somewhat on Kawabata’s novel, House Of Sleeping Beauties.

Matango - 1963 - 7/10
AKA - Attack Of The Mushroom People // マタンゴ

Seven went a’sailing and encountered heavy storms.
They wound up stranded on a deserted isle in the middle of nowhere.
Only it was not so deserted.
Classic Japanese horror film with anti-drug subtext, hints of cold war experiments, nuclear fallout, Lord Of The Flies, …
As starvation clamps down, food choices narrow to forest mushrooms.
Color film, but as black and white it is far creepier.

Corruption - 1968 - 5/10

Brilliant surgeon is engaged to top fashion model.
At a Swinging London happening, an arc light topples and sizzles the model’s face.
Wait a minute! Her fiancé, the surgeon, he’s brilliant, remember?
The doctor begins to harvest tissue, the fresher the better.
Interesting time capsule curio gradually turns mad, insanely mad.
As bad as the script seems, the direction is ridiculous.
There is a lengthy chase at one point. It goes on too long, but rather than trim, this is simply sped up. I asked aloud, “Where’s Benny Hill?”
This pales next to the last act and the ludicrous finale.
Poor Peter Cushing, what was he thinking?

Two Weeks - 2013 - 6/10
AKA - Toowickseu // 투윅스[

K-drama, patterned after “The Fugitive” finds petty level criminal accused of murder.
This is not the first time he’s taken the fall, but it is the first time he realizes he will be killed in prison.
In a traffic accident, he makes his break!
Straight off, he ain’t Dr. Richard Kimble. He has a criminal record, is involved with criminals, and is a gigolo.
Over the episodes, his backstory gets teased out, showing the many people he has disappointed.
The first half has stronger pacing and is a hard moving thriller. I really appreciate that he was unable to get out of his handcuffs for a few episodes. Most shows – five minutes, free!
I’m sure I got this because Kim So-Yeon plays the obsessed prosecutor. She was the ice cold N Korean agent in 2009’s IRIS. Her acting borders on hysterics here, everyone else is fine.
Not quite by the numbers, but predictable. Certainly acceptable for casual viewers.

A Bird Of The Air - 2011 - 6/10

A parrot flies through Lyman’s open trailer door and into his life.
He works midnight shift as rescue patrol on deserted New Mexico highways.
Lyman is also an orphan, with no idea of his parents, his background, family history.
With the aid of a perky librarian (aren’t they all), he begins to track the bird’s previous owners,
trying to solve one mysterious beginning to compensate for his own.
Quirky love story, comedy, character study.

Free Solo - 2018 - 7/10

Stunning mountain climbing documentary, and I have viewed more than I want to.
This follows simply the best free climber in the world. No hammers, hooks, pylons, clamps. No rope.
Handhold, foothold, finger, toehold.
Awesome! Note, however, the life expectancy of this small group is not lengthy.
Without a rope, even the tiniest error …
The subject, the emotionless Alex Honnold, is far from likeable. Fellow climbers refer to him as Spock.
What drives him? He cracks the door a slice when he mentions his “bottomless pit of self loathing.”
Blonde girlfriend Sanni, who receives a fair amount of screen time, seems mismatched.
As expected, scenery is breathtaking. Unbelievable.

Hooligans: The Untold Story - 2006 - 7/10

Documentary of the 2006 World Cup, set in Germany.
Security types keep 3000 troublemakers from arriving.
That ought to cover everyone, right?
Riots, brawls, fights, melees.
And bars never stopped serving beer, even amidst flying chairs.
Rumble!

Various (Editor: Jarvis, Timothy) - Uncertainties Volume 4

A collection that, for me, unfortunately, mirrored its title in that many times I was uncertain if the works included were actually stories.
Some lacked narrative, others had protagonists who were less than bare sketches (yes, short stories have limitations). Most struck me as overly vague. The pile of dust in a dark corner of an empty room of an abandoned house.
My chief gripe is I was rarely engaged. Or am I too bourgeois?
Yes, I realize these were earnestly written, and not simply “attempts” that litter the zines.
Anyway, I stubbornly push onward, my work ethic compelling me to finish, be it a bad meal, bad date, dull movie, or concerts with drunken, inept musicians.
I get to Wilkinson and implore aloud, “Charles, please,” and at that point Uncertainties pivots.
A yarn of pacts, portents and curses.
Another of lost girls (which should strike a chord with Canadian readers, who have seen thousands of young girls disappear).
Another where one’s very breath can mask a hideous evil, restrained except for duress.
This clutch was a mixed bag for me. This time of year, more tricks than treats.

Arctic - 2018 - 7/10

Mads Mikkelsen as Overgård, alone in a polar wasteland, stoically waiting / hoping for rescue.
His makeshift camp lies inside airplane wreckage, he catches fish when he can.
Lone neighbor, seen in the distance, is a lumbering polar bear, also hunting.
Ostensibly an endurance story, one can see how this might perplex lazy viewers.
Unlike a Hollywood film, there is no backstory. No memories of wife, girlfriend, plane crash.
Monologue is spare, Overgård is taciturn and ordinary, not some heroic survivalist.
In short, no spoon-feeding for an audience of limited imagination.

Band Of Assassins - 1962 - 6/10
AKA - Shinobi no Mono // 忍びの者

Fast paced action in feudal Japan.
Warlord Nobunaga overpowers rival houses and crushes opposition alliances.
The emperor seems a target, as do the ninja fortresses.
Narrative follows ninja attempts to thwart, stall, stop Nobunaga as the wily family chief orders Goemon (peerless Ichikawa Raizo) to assassinate the ruthless chieftain.
Skills dominate over magic. Treachery is the main tool, as well as manipulation, sexual and emotional.
Followed by numerous sequels and a craze for ninjas. 007 fans will recognize sequences later cribbed for You Only Live Twice.

The Man From Beyond - 1922 - 5/10

Harry Houdini silent.
Legendary escape artist made a number of films, but this was not his best.
Houdini, discovered in an Arctic shipwreck is chopped out of a huge chuck of ice.
After thawing, he revives, and it turns out he has been there since 1820. 100 years.
In no time flat, he finds a female who resembles his long lost flame.
Plot detours into reincarnation territory, one of Houdini’s obsessions.
A cliff hanging sequence (literally) and swim near the top of Niagara Falls are highlights.

25th Reich - 2012 - 3/10

There was the Third Reich, followed eventually by the 25th Reich.
Yep, more Nazis. Wish writers could come up with new baddies.
This lacked the budget of Iron Sky and looks it.
During WWII, a squad of US GIs in Australia (?!?) are hunting two escaped pumas (cats, not slightly older women).
Yes, glorified dog catchers, the Army’s finest.
First hour is all walk n talk. Endless trudging montages, followed by 5-10 minutes of exposition to advance the plot. Yawn.
Last 20 minutes, the film roars into overdrive.
Nazis, space ships, gunfights, time travel, spider tanks, disturbing sex, cliffhanger. Bad CGI.
You already know how feeble you are. If you are still reading, hunt down this turkey.

Mystère à la Tour Eiffel - 2017 - 6/10

There are a series of these Mystère films. In the Louvre, At The Opera . . .
Ostensibly chick flick mysteries, these fall into the subgenre of “frock films.”
Meaning, like the Miss Fisher series, aficionados watch these to admire the wardrobe.
I will try to limit myself to this lone review.

There are a handful of murders in late 19th century Paris.
All would be considered “locked room” affairs.
The obvious culprit is the attractive, young blonde.
Magicians play a role, detectives are dim witted, and our heroine finds shelter in an underground lesbian enclave.
Narrative is generic, twists are implausible, the clothes - I admit - are very nice.

Night Wind - 1999 - 5/10
AKA - Le Vent de la Nuit

Pretentious French twaddle with Catherine Deneuve and Xavier Beauvois.
Deneuve has an affair with a younger man, because she is bored, or dead inside.
The young man describes himself as an artist, when he is not even an assistant.
Then there’s a 60’s burnout.
Tedious slog with stagnant pond characters.
Deneuve remains attractive, but she cannot illuminate the whole film.