Vultural

Artificial Existence - 2021 - 7/10

It’s just a tiny implant, connected to your cortex. You won’t notice.
Evelyn is a virtual reality architect of near tomorrow. She helped design our A I ruled world.
Day after day of perfectly scheduled, soulless monotony.
All citizens have implants or mods, upgrades are mandatory.
A society of passive sheep, save for those who recall a world before A I control.
For those, contentment is a quiet Hell.
I keep saying – befriend the machine, train the machine, empower the machine, at your peril.

Murders In Sandhamn - 2010 - 6/10
AKA - Morden I Sandhamn

A body is washed ashore. Police arrive and – “Hey, didn’t we go to school together?”
Yes, amidst a couple of murders, the detective and married wife and mom of two feel the sparks.
The detective’s inexperienced underling does the field work while he lingers.
You want a cleverly constructed mystery, this ain’t it.
Devotees of soap opera TV that runs 45 installments, enter friends!
Thank God the first season ran for only three episodes. I’m done.

Remembrance - 1982 - 6/10

Shore leave! Plymouth. And the crew hit the pubs.
Get boozed, get wasted, brawl, impress girls, disgust girls.
Night after night, ship after ship.
Narrative follows several seamen, wives, girlfriends, mates, rivals.
Everyone knows the men will ship out for six months.
For two nights, however, they splash or fizzle.
Film has the look and feel of a Ken Loach or Mike Leigh work.

Kleo: S02 - 2024 - 7/10

The second season picks up with everyone’s favorite ex-Stasi assassin chasing the red suitcase.
As before, Kleo must navigate between police, KGB, CIA, treacherous colleagues and the worst – relatives.
And she is still saddled with space cadet Thilo, and incompetent lawman Sven.
This series is shorter and moves very fast, possibly because there is such a body count!
The spark of joy that informed the killings in S01 is replaced by blasé efficiency.
Kleo also learns how utilize Thilo and Sven, despite their deficiencies, since they seem the only two she can trust.
Characters come and go, yet there are enough of a core for viewers to stay oriented.
This DOES conclude, with a small side door at the end for a potential third season.

The Life Of Reilly - 2006 - 7/10

As in Charles Nelson Reilly, comedian, Tony award winner, omnipresent TV guest.
One man play showcasing his careening life.
An overbearing mother, a miraculous survival from a historic circus fire.
Being theatre coached under the legendary Uta Hagen.
There is a moment when Reilly reads the list of his fellow classmates. Staggering.
This came from his show he gave across campuses for five years, this from the final two.
Perhaps less well known today, save for his Jose Chung (X-Files and Millennium).

The Viral Factor - 2012 - 6/10
AKA - Jik Zin // 逆戰

A strain of smallpox has been stolen, then the scientist who stole it is snatched by a business cartel.
Why? Release a new variant globally, then charge ka-zillions for the vaccine.
Wait a minute! What year was this? OK, OK, just a coincidence.
Film swiftly shifts into a high octane button, button, who’s got what?
Thieves, cops, crooked cops, scientists, an off-duty, out of his jurisdiction detective.
Action? Holy moly, Moses, this is wall to wall gunfights, street chases, martial arts.
How many bullets can a body take and keep plugging along? Think more.
Much was shot in Kuala Lumpur, nice change from Hong Kong.
Otherwise, mindless hoopla.

Swedish Nympho Slaves - 1977 - 5/10
AKA - Die Sklavinnen

Ignore the opening scene, set in a “police station” / gentlemen’s club,
The subsequent prison break frees the notorious Princess Arminda, just to snare her.
Under torture, she confesses to numerous misdeeds.
Seducing a multimillionaire’s daughter, drugging her, kidnapping, then turning her into a prostitute.
Being a Jess Franco film, there is gratuitous sex and nudity.
The story flirts with Noir, there is decent camerawork, exotic Portugal locations.
Nevertheless, this is a patched-together affair (check Lina’s hairstyles) cobbled from numerous shoots.

Gold Dust Gertie - 1931 - 5/10

Attempted screwball comedy is unbearable.
Did audiences really laugh at this in the 1930’s?
Gertie tries to shake down two ex-husbands, now married to dragon queens.
Actually, did she even divorce either? Is she a bigamist?
No matter, she’s angling for a 50 year old sugar daddy.
One forced situation stacked upon another.
Farce, schtick, low-brow, etc … Was there a script? The whole thing feels improvised.
Some enjoyed the final speedboat chase. Too long, and I wished they crashed into each other.

Mayor, F. W. - The Room Opposite

For years, Sundial Press listed this as forthcoming. Then, during the Pandemic, the press shuttered (RIP Frank Kibblewhite) and I sighed that it was gone again.
Not so!
Nezu Press has resurrected this collection, including Gina Collia’s generous notes.

The title story is a wraparound one, as two friends set forth on separate journeys. The younger spends an uncomfortable night in a sinister inn. The older friend? His experience reflects the darker shade of the mirror, with Chance a cruel jester.

The elusive stranger appears in “The Kind Action Of Mr Robinson”. Marsden, owing to foolish gambling, is in debt. Until a black clad figure sidles up and loans him £500, to be repaid in the far future. Repayment if only he survives to the due date.

“Tales Of The Widow Weeks” present anecdotes of the venomous village crone. Some whisper witch, but who believes in witches? And what harm could a trinket or small box cause?

Women outnumber men in the boarding house. Several relocate frequently. While there, they brag about their son, or nephew, or grandson. Glorious males. “Christmas Night At The Almira” finds Mrs Gwynne waiting for her oh-so busy son. A mournful tale of aging discards.

“Mother And Daughter” is similar, with the bright young thing nervously dashing about, while her mother simply wants to sit still, enjoy each others’ company.

Spinsters and widows abide at the battered holiday home, as do the stray gentlemen. Add the lone young female, and the shy, yet interested young man. “The Lounge At The Royal”, where the ladies observe and pen letters, where every tomorrow may bring the gust of unpleasant change.

Mayor’s eye for the plight of females is piercing in these surplus women stories.

Then there is Flora’s essay on her time in rep, “Life In A Touring Company”.
The resplendent, glittering theatre exteriors contrasted with the cramped, shabby dressing rooms.
Malicious hierarchies, the troupe as family, pressures of travel, wretched food, and financial security – what is that? Yet for all that, the stage beckons!
Oh, that Arthur Machen was able to read this. Or today, Reggie Oliver.
♪ Hi diddle dee dee …

Girl From Tobacco Road - 1966 - 6/10

The chain gang guard turns his back, next thing his head is whacked and the men scatter.
“Snake” arrives in a rural Tennessee backwater and is befriended by a widowed pastor with children.
Eager young boy and two older sisters, one frisky, the other reserved.
Add a courting sheriff, add three city hoods, add a missing stash of bank loot.
More? Friends, the Tobacco Festival is underway, glorious celebration to burley and nicotine.
Square dancing, bluegrass, rockabilly, old timey country, an unbelievable harmonica number.
Eerie thing, this is a remarkable time capsule of a time and place where I grew up.
Nicolas Winding Refn has restored the surviving elements as best as possible.

True Colors - 2022 - 7/10

The driver died, although everything about the death is mysterious.
Following a car accident on community lands, police assign the case to a detective who long left the community.
Even though she was born there, she is immediately stonewalled.
Relatives, local police, artists, along with well-meaning exploiters.
Excellent “outside looking in” series, lifting a curtain off a culture unknown to most.
Men and women, separate art, separate rules and taboos.
Inhabitants want the murder solved, without meddling outsiders.
Cultural side is compelling, while the police stuff is pretty slipshod.

Murder In Nancy - 2022 - 6/10
AKA - Meurtres à Nancy

The first corpse was found inside a vintage wardrobe during the auction.
With a bloody “witch” sign around her neck.
The whodunit grows less important than the whydunit.
Two senior investigators and a new recruit – sheesh, everyone is perky and happy.
This angle is unusual for a mystery, and the trio become more unrealistic and annoying.
Meanwhile, their boss, the prosecutor, is a boss from hell and a welcome distraction.
Aside from stray moments, local scenery is underutilized.
Not one of the better installments of these French murder shows.

Slap Shot - 1977 - 7/10

Homage to the sport I’ve always referred to as “wrestling on skates”.
Struggling minor league hockey team in a dying town.
To boost attendance, and profits, the coach tries publicity stunts.
Not much works, until he brings in the Hanson brothers.
Similar to goofy, likeable teens, except extraordinarily violent.
One of the funniest films, and depressing (where I grew up, the steel mill was finally demolished in 2021), this also revels in humanity’s bloodlust.
Paul Newman excellent in this (he ought to have done more comedies).
Mind you, once the Hanson’s arrive, they own the screen.

McCarthy, Cormac - Two Ungathered Stories

Two very early stories, missing from collections and anthologies, first published in 1959 / 1960 in a University of Tennessee zine.
Both bear a style resemblance to Ernest Hemingway, especially his Nick Adams character.
“Wake For Susan” follows a young man into a rural cemetery, contemplating the gravestone of a 17 year old who had died a century earlier. What was she like? Did she have a fella? Dreams? A life, at 17, somehow cut short.
The second, “A Drowning Incident”, is more bitterish. Seething anger over a lie, a deception, followed by a horrific deed. The discoverer then opts for quiet revenge, and the eventual explosion.
Both hard to find, worthwhile if you can.
These came from a small bookshop in Penrith.

Catwalk: Tales From The Cat Show Circuit - 2018 - 6/10

Beauty contests for felines. Actually, the owners. Cats would likely prefer to be at home – asleep.
White cat Bobby leads the mob, looks certain to win best-cat overall for the year.
Until the brown Persian named Ooh La La, arrives and begins snapping victories.
Cats and owners (breeders) go from one pageant to another, winning prizes taking orders for offspring.
As do the judges – the same judges! And if you don’t think judges have breed preferences, think again, Bosco.
For the cats, I felt great pity. Watching persnickety owners cat-handle them, I thought, “You poor bastards.”
Companion pairing, which I will not watch, is Living Dolls, 2001 doc of beauty pageants for little girls.

Underdog: The Other Other Brontë - 2024 - 7/10

Of course not Charlotte, and Emily was much too willful to be anyone’s pushover.
The other Brontë, besides Branwell, was mild, self-effacing Anne, she of unsuspected depths.
Nevertheless, the play gazes at Charlotte throughout.
Domineering, manipulative, self-serving, even treacherous when necessary.
Despite the all for one ethos, sibling competition never ebbs.
Insurmountable difficulties for women writers are sharply drawn, and this is not as syrupy as Mrs Gaskill’s treacly bio.
Familiarity with “Jane Eyre” “Wuthering Heights” (perhaps “The Tenant Of Windfell Hall”) will boost enjoyment.

Brainstorm - 1965 - 6/10

Scientist Grayam rescues an unconscious female in front of an approaching train.
Turns out, she is the trophy wife of his boss, head of Cord Industries.
Like fools, she and Grayam swiftly start an affair that crisps their common sense.
And the owner, instead of firing him, decides to ruin his reputation and drive him insane.
Two can play at that game, however.
Very late Noir, overlaid with psychological thriller cloth.
Inspired camerawork hampered by over-acting (Jeff Hunter) or poor acting (Anne Francis).
Conspiracy types should have a field day viewing this.

Quant - 2021 - 7/10

For fashionistas, a must-see biography of the Sixties designer icon.
Who actually set up her own boutique shop in 1955.
Best remembered for the miniskirts, bright colors, free moving garments.
Plus, she was not designing for the affluent elite, but for everyday girls.
Numerous talking heads from models to historians to a few gushing cheerleaders.
While she rarely receives credit today, her influence still pervades fashion.
The Mary Quant Shops remain strong in Japan.

Fury In Marrakech - 1966 - 5/10
AKA - Furia a Marrakech

International crime syndicate has located Hitler’s immense cache of counterfeit dollars and pounds.
The CIA send clean-scrubbed Dixon to investigate, Special Branch sends Alexander King to observe.
Plot is paper thin. Dixon comes across as naive, inexperienced, perhaps chaste.
Action runs along chases and shootings.
Locations must have been pretty exotic: the Caribbean, New York, Marrakech, the Swiss Alps.
There is a poor man’s Q, whose gizmos rescue Dixon from time to time.
Skiing sequences predate On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
Empty headed knockoff, capitalizing on Bond mania.
Movie buffs, check out the theaters marquees at the twenty minute point!

Okinawa Yakuza War - 1976 - 6/10
AKA - Okinawa Yakuza Sensô // 沖縄やくざ戦争

Since the end of WWII, local gangs ruled Okinawa.
In 1972, the island reverted back to Japanese control; with that came the larger yakuza groups.
The Okinawa clans form alliances while the larger outfits wait for the inevitable falling outs.
Frantic crime drama loaded with shootings and beatings and extreme cruelty.
Shin’ichi (Sonny) Chiba dominates as the volatile Kunigami, boiling resentment and fury.
Blistering pace, way too many characters – necessary for the body count.
Ugly, misogynist, sadistic. For fans of Japanese gangster flicks.

Blood Free - 2024 - 7/10
AKA - Jibaejong // 지배종

Chae-woon, ex-Naval officer, is recruited / assigned to bodyguard the CEO of BF.
Blood Free, synthetic meat, meant to end the era of human carnivores.
Ranchers don’t like it, nor do the processing plants, nor do self-righteous protestors.
Then there are business rivals, who will steal or murder to appropriate BF’s data.
Original series mixes speculation with espionage, along with fights and ballistics.
Final ending, while certainly bloody, will fizzle for many.
The conclusion leaves stray threads and questions.
Being a Western (Disney) financed series, difficult to foresee if there will be a S02.
If you are comfortable with uncertainty, this is a gripping, action-punctuated show.

Murder In Mayfair - 2023 - 6/10

Martine Vik Magnussen, 23-year-old business student in London.
Out partying with friends, caught on camera leaving the club with a male friend.
Body found later in the basement of his apartment, under debris.
Scotland Yard, slow off the mark, realized too late the main suspect had caught a flight to Egypt.
Frustrating documentary of an unresolved case.

You’re Sleeping Nicole - 2014 - 6/10
AKA - Tu Dors Nicole

Summer break, parents away on a vacation, Nicole has the house to herself.
Both she and best friend, Véronique, hang out, drift about, bounce the random male.
They wonder aloud, “Is this what our summer is going to be?”
Then Nicole’s brother arrives, band in tow, and begin rehearsing.
The males are older, not especially talented, likewise going nowhere.
Film does a good job of catching the stagnant lethargy of summer, broken here and there.
The closer one is in age to the characters (19-20) the more one may identify and sympathize.
English subs = https://subscene.best/subtitle/3348255

She Devil - 1957 - 5/10

You do love me, don’t you Dan?
Yes, I have killed a couple of people, but so what.
I want what I want, and that includes you.

Kyra had been near death, incurable, until the doctors tried an experimental, insect based serum on her.
Now, she heals immediately, even from fatal accidents.
Worse, she has lost her humanity, empathy, and is moving up the predator food chain.
Straight instead of campy. Not enough SciFi, nor enough Horror, not enough murders!
Mari Blanchard a real force as the driven fatale, while menfolk are roadkill.

Keene, Brian - Little Silver Book Of Street Wise Stories

Wise authors view these “Little” books as an introduction to new readers.
At least, one feels Keene has done this, selecting very good, very choice stories.

“Dust”, which references Manhattan, September 11th, still carries a bite two decades on.

There also a SciFi gem in “The Two-Headed Alien Love Child”. A G-Man, working his own special brief, deals with interlopers, casual, careless, hit-n-run sorts. Read to the end for the sting.

“Bunnies In August” is a sorrowful paddle into guilt. Accidents, misdeeds, and the knowledge that even if catastrophes are not your fault, consequences may still leave one wounded.

Keene’s popular dealer of closure is given back-to-back slices in “I Am An Exit” and “This Is Not An Exit”. Recommend to read both together to stay in the mood.

Marriage on the rocks, accursed job, a life little more than a waste of space, poozie woozie is appalled at the miserable cell he has placed himself into. The closure guy is not about, and yet in “Without You” a typically American solution is nearby.

Santa Claus, mob hitmen, an alien deity? “The Siqquism Who Stole Christmas” throws these displaced sorts into the blender for a funny, if unmerry Yule yarn. Oh yeah, reindeer, too!