Vultural

Haunted House For Sale - 2024 - 6/10
AKA - Xing fu fang wu shi jian bu // 幸福房屋事件簿

Fast-track, career relator, Lu An-Chi, and her rookie assistant, Yu Ta-chih, are assigned “stigmatized” properties.
Homes or buildings where a suicide or murder has left a lingering spirit.
Ta-chih is socially clumsy and slow, but he comes from a family of shamans.
He can see the dead, who are forever making requests.
Taiwan series filled with stand-alone episodes, funny, sad, dangerous.
Early episodes suffer awkward comic relief, which subsides midway as the overall arc darkens.
I appreciated the old-school special effects. Color filters, visual distortions.
Also learned stigmatized property is a real thing in Asia.

Paid To Kill - 1954 - 5/10
AKA - Five Days

Hotshot boss, Nevill, has driven the company into expansion and increased profits.
By taking risks, huge gambles, and unscrupulous methods.
And now, the whole empire is poised to collapse.
With it, his good name, the wealth, his marriage. His wife will be impoverished.
Except – if he hires someone to murder him, she will collect insurance money!
Stale, tired plot matched by Dane Clark’s listless performance.
Most of the cast looks bored, photography is flat.
How could anyone make London appear so very dull?

Various (Editor: Beech, Mark) - Infernal Mysteries

Egaeus resurrects the Gothic. Radcliffe, Maturin, Lewis … set in the 18th century, period attire, yet human instincts remain as base as they are today. Writers need to exercise care emulating the bygone. Some could easily slip into stilted pastiche, rather than inspired homage. Unusually for me, this collection took time, and a few stories, before it grew on me.

A friar is entrusted by his Eminence to transport “The Cardinal’s Ring”. A journey, land and spiritual, ensues. The ring is merely on loan, yet the recipient is a powerful, dangerous aristocrat.

“Casa Magni” is a recasting of the Shelley’s, Mary and Percy. Love and infatuation, jealousy and calculation. As well as the patience to live with the mercurial, to inherit the legacy.

I’m not always in the proper mood to appreciate Rhys Hughes’ wry works, but here he excels with “Thirteen Castles South”. For travelers who have tired of the Grand Tour, there is a castle only whispered of in an obscure pamphlet. Only the foolhardy would seek it out.

“The Rescue” is just that, hard after a terrible accident. A hero, a maid, a brute. Not to spoil, the ending was a cliff, which irked me.

“The Grotto At Crennocken” is a marvelous fabrication, then equipping of, the Earl’s outlying building. An abomination, a celebration of filth and decadence, long before term was appropriated by preening hipsters. The Earl has bought or plundered a loathsome assemblage, not least of which is his companion, Haqi, devotee of Kali. Steeped in atmosphere, this proves a lengthy, gratifying descent.

Silk - 2006 - 6/10
AKA - Gui Si // 詭絲

The investigator had been to New Zealand, Zimbabwe, London.
In Taipei, however, he strikes paydirt. Or rather, the ghost strikes him – dead.
Now, the small team tries to understand why the spirit lingers.
Why does it now dissipate? Why does it remain strong? And malevolent?
The team’s research is actually anti-gravity, which leads into death and immortality.
Silk is the thread that connects this life with the afterlife, or the underlife.
Ingenious story, seldom dull, spilling ideas all over.
English subs = https://subsource.net/subtitle/silk-2006/english/10075064

Thelma - 2024 - 7/10

Thelma, 93, gets phoned scammed out of $10K.
Family wonders if it’s time she was, you know, placed in a retirement home.
Meantime, Thelma wants her money back!
Crime / comedy is tagged as action, but I’m telling you, ain’t much action with scooters and walkers.
Laugh out loud funny, or terrifying, depending on your outlook toward old age. Not 60, but 90.
Over-coddled family is emblematic of unspoken messages, perhaps.
Great cast, if a little gimpy, including Richard Roundtree (final role) who shows a flair for droll comedy.
Young audience, cannot relate? Fear not, given enough time you turn into your grandparents.

In Night And Ice - 1912 - 6/10
AKA - In Nacht und Eis

What? Ice, you say? Where?
Aarrr … that’s an iceberg!
Too late do ship officers spy the perilous field of icebergs.
The vessel? RMS Titanic.
Forty minute film recreates events in a documentary fashion.
Inter-titles describe upcoming proceedings, players overact.
The restoration, especially for something this old, is pristine.

Man’s Favorite Sport? - 1964 - 5/10

Fishing guru Roger knows the best gear, best techniques, best spots and times.
Thing is, he is a fraud. Has never fished, cannot swim, actually dislikes the life aquatic.
His unknowing boss orders him to compete in a tournament.
Forced “screwball” comedy mixes bland romance with farce situations.
Hudson and Prentiss are an appealing couple, but he is such a dunce to be unbelievable.
Curly Howard could carry off these stunts, Rock Hudson lives up to his first name.
As a boy, I found this film sidesplittingly funny.
Watched last night, an eager cast tries too hard, burdened with a stale script.

I Know Where I’m Going - 1945 - 7/10

So declares 25-year-old Joan, traveling to marry a much older, wealthy industrialist.
(Wendy Hiller slightly miscast as she resembles 40 instead of 25.)
That is before she is stranded on Mull, however, as howling weather means a forbidding sea.
On Mull, time downshifts and Joan falls under the spell of the locals, the slower pace.
She encounters and is drawn to the laird, even hears of the curse of the castle.
An enchanting film, filled with memorable characters and a rollicking ceilidh.
And a roiling deathtrap – Corryvrecken.

A film that haunted me for years. On our 20th anniversary, I booked passage on the QE2, later boarded the Flying Scotsman, then made a dash, a gamble, to the small boat that would take us into Corryvrecken. As with so many of my risks, Fortune did not favor me.

El Norte - 1983 - 7/10

Enrique and Rosa flee Guatemala after the murders of their parents.
The route, though Mexico, then into Los Angeles, has horrifying moments.
Once in the States, working, their luck seems to turn, Enrique’s especially.
Nothing is easy, however, as their dead mother reminds them in visions.
One can take these visions as magic, second-sight or daydreams.
The film does an exceptional job showing the empty plight of the refugee.
Both Enrique and Rosa are young, their journey brief.
Note: I worked in Los Angeles with numerous migrants, many had stories like these.
Even today, I live in the barrio with the older generation, now legit, who carry memories.

Babette’s Feast - 1987 - 7/10

Broccoli film. Meaning, it’s good for you. You appreciate it, though don’t necessarily enjoy it.
A French refugee is given shelter by an abstemious, devout pair of sisters.
After a decade of repayment service, Babette decides to prepare an elaborate French meal.
For a table gathering who, save one, know nothing of cuisine.
Those who cannot tell the difference between robust peasant fare, and nuanced and subtle dishes.
Akin to giving three-year-olds expensive chocolate truffles, when a Tootsie Roll tastes the same to them.
Yes, this one raked in acclaim and awards. A high-quality film that I disliked exceedingly.

High Street Shops We Loved And Lost - 2024 - 6/10

For Stateside dwellers, think Main Street shops.
Aging souls wax ecstatic about shopping back in the day.
The ambiance, the vibe, frantic sales, sniffy counter clerks.
By and large, these are chains.
Time from the Swinging 60’s to the 90’s, grinding to the end of it all.
None are blind to the harsh reality that Internet prices and convenience killed the shops.
An unhappy sigh when another closure was announced, followed by “I have not shopped there in a long time.”

A three minute video tutorial on how to write film reviews.
This is from the New York Times film critic, A O Scott.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raiWajtEV9s

Iron Will - 1994 - 6/10

Think of this as the early version of the Iditarod Trail. Only with real snow.
1917, teenage Will enters the 500 miles dogsled race from Winnipeg to Minnesota.
The competition is an advertising stunt, yet the Great War dominates the press.
Will lacks experience, nor is he physically prepared, but he is plucky.
Plus, he has a great lead dog.
Old-fashioned adventure film from Disney is feel-good all the way.
Excellent family film, and based on a true individual.

Heroic Trio - 1993 - 6/10
AKA - Dung Fong Saam Hap // 東方三俠

The trio being Maggie Cheung, Anita Mui and Michelle Yeoh.
Newborn babies are kidnapped, police are powerless, who can save them?
Loaded with stunts and action, with a plot that feels improvised.
Maggie and Anita seem to be having fun, while Michelle is stone faced.
The trailer promised more than this delivered for me, especially after I bought it.
Entertaining in a cartoony way, and at this time, everything coming out of Hong Kong was must-see.
The female trio are extraordinarily attractive.

Another Woman - 1988 - 7/10

Professor Pope takes a year off to work on a book.
Her apartment, undergoing construction, is too distracting, so she rents an office space.
Where, via the HVAC duct, she overhears a young woman and her psychiatrist.
The sessions are painful, and eavesdropping, Professor begins to identify.
Partly with the despair, partly by identifying herself as something of an oppressor.
One of Woody Allen’s serious films, filmed in subdued colors.
Quiet, thoughtful, yet brimming with self-identity and perceptions.
Casual viewers desiring his comedies might pass on this.

Strange Darling - 2023 - 7/10

She is running, literally for her life, as she is being hunted, pretty much through the whole film.
Often she’ll ask, “Can you help me? Please?”
Usually folks will oblige. If not, she is in survival mode.
Six chapters, chopped, making the storyline trickier to get a handle on.
Outstanding chase thriller, veering into Slasher territory, with venomous turns.
If curious, I would go in stone cold; I fear most reviewers cannot be discreet.
Willa Fitzgerald gives a tour de force performance as the quarry.

Dirty Weekend - 1993 - 6/10

Even I knew her boyfriend was shagging half the females at his birthday party.
Bella, hurt, opts to move to Brighton and start freelancing.
With American flicks, the victim runs, screams, and falls down a lot.

In this, Bella takes matters into her own hands, or rather takes the hammer into her hands.
Black comedy of tables turned, the lamb into butcher.
Lia Williams, a dead-faced sponge in the first third, gradually reveals the hunter’s smile.
Large name cast, many acting against type, seem to be having fun.

The Wastelander: Sector 23 - 2024 - 6/10

Near future sees conflict in cityscape rubble.
Human soldier vs mechanized foes.
Our protagonist, carrying a battered map and tech gear he does not comprehend, is on a quest
Minimal conflict sequences (badly choreographed, overlaid with poor music). Quiet moments are better.
Borrows from iconic films, leading to a dark reveal.
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3353238

Various (Editor: Smith, Imogen Sara) - Noir City Annual 16

Longtime contributor Smith takes over the editor’s role this outing. As always, diverse topics, a few unfamiliar gems, and late appreciations.

“Stoner Noir”, from the very title, one realizes most will be later films. Highlight, Lebowski.

“No Exit” makes a case for one of Orson Welles forgotten films, “The Trial” with Anthony Perkins, filmed before the actor was doomed by typecasting. Other Kafka adaptations are discussed, acknowledging how difficult the author has been to turn into cinema. No mention of the superb 2024 series.

“Architects Of Illusion” – Classic era art directors and set design, what a great choice! From those who were blessed with handsome budgets, to those who scraped by with loose change and imagination.

An essay on Roger Touhy, Chicago gangster. And the movie somewhat based on him. Added to my to-find list, no matter how poor.

“Ripped From The Headlines!” details the original, fact-based incidents that sparked subsequent films, which most Noir fans have screened.

Likewise, “Guns For Hire”, a survey of hired assassins. Hitmen. There are far too many stories about the triggermen, so there will be missing gems. This is a nice smattering.

Profiles include Jean Hagen, Walter Matthau (really? yes, really), Bob Rafelson (focusing on late works).

Usually, I make a list of reviews ruined by spoilers. Lazy writers who equate a synopsis with a review. Editor Smith seems to have checked those tendencies. Bravo. There are countless newcomers who have not viewed all films, and don’t need those ruined with gushed endings.

Note: I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. These Noir City Annuals do not stay in print long. The limited number print run only benefits aging aficionados and collectors. Publisher Eddie Muller really ought to offer p.o.d. reprints for future generations.

Secrets Of Coca-Cola: The Billion Dollar Beverage - 2019 - 6/10

History of the obscure beginnings of the snake oil tonic to global dominance.
No, there wasn’t cocaine in the early product, it was coca, from the leaves.
Kept for a long time, eventually removed. Formula remains a guarded secret.
Upstart Pepsi mentioned, but the 90’s taste-test challenge, not the earlier Pepsi Generation.
Best for cola junkies, who I suspect are legion. +
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3353312

• My own father was the latter. He had a standing order with the local bottler to deliver 15 cases monthly.
  That’s the 16 oz bottles, 24 per case. Yes, he drank two six-packs a day.
  Also smoked a steady stream of cigars. Health conscious souls, he lived to be 86.

Rimfire - 1949 - 5/10

Army gold has been hijacked, and an incognito officer is dispatched.
Around the one-horse town somewhere, and the town ain’t nothing but lowlifes.
Saloon, cardsharp, brawls, a half drunk judge, shady cowpunchers.
Somehow marked as a Western Noir, this is just a B-oater.
Final feature by Breezy Eason, and the wild opening has his trademarks all over it.
Nobody could shoot charging horses like he could.
Reed Hadley is in this, but underutilized.
For an hour film, this has a pile of cold-blooded murders, close to a dozen.

The Coca-Cola Kid - 1985 - 6/10

Coke execs discover an untapped market deep in the Australian Outback.
It is the fierce stronghold of the local beverage.
They send their ace, Becker, to try and topple the rival.
Strange comedy runs quirky, sexy and bittersweet.
The best moments, the ones that linger, are pure Aussie.
I didn’t always understand some, yet that was OK.
“As Australian as a barbed wire canoe.” Making the jingle below. Brilliant.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ml0TURpHRuw

Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind - 2004 - 7/10

A somewhat indescribable film of a tempestuous couple.
Clementine has already gone to the clinic and had all memories of Joel purged.
Afterward, reluctantly, Joel decides on the same.
Erasure proceeds from most recent (angry, hateful) to older.
Earlier memories are romantic, poignant, and Joel wants to hang onto them.
Chronology shifts wildly and abruptly. Camera techniques and styles vary.
Perplexing at times, likewise depressing, story of love, memory and Fate.
Also the only Jim Carrey film I ever liked.

The Temp - 1993 - 6/10

Peter is released from the mental clinic. Issue, paranoia.
Now divorced, he returns to work to find the company has been taken over – layoffs announced.
Help arrives in the form of a temp, Kris, who proves to be an adept workhorse.
Meanwhile, praise the maker, work enemies and adversaries encounter misfortune.
Better viewed as a black comedy, this is a Noir tinged thriller.
Studio interference crippled this one. Not to mention test audience surveys.
A twisted narrative, never properly resolved.
Coulda, shoulda. Guilty pleasure for me, yet a flawed movie.

Cristóbal Balenciaga - 2024 - 7/10

Strolling biopic series of the formidable fashion designer.
Active in Paris haute couture from the 1930’s into the 1970’s.
This explores his obstacles, relationships, methods.
His rivalries / friendships include Dior, Chanel, Givenchy.
Homosexuality is touched on several times, as well as Fascist Spain, and Nazi occupied Paris.
Alberto San Juan digs into the lead role, showcasing Balenciaga’s innovation and almost monomaniacal need for control.
Superbly done – BUT – this is one of those series where one ought to have a handle on fashion history.
(I married a fashionista, one who is steeped in the major houses and keeps up with current designers and models.
I even went to an exhibition of Balenciaga’s garments a few years ago.
Hate saying this, but the less you know, the more you may miss out.)