Vultural

Byleth, Il Demone dell’Incesto - 1972 - 5/10
AKA - Byleth, The Demon Of Incest

Dolores, the busy village prostitute, is savagely murdered after another sensual transaction.
Next comes, well, let’s not get premature with the slippery details.
Rather, focus on Barbara, returning from England and continental travels.
To the glistening delight of her brother, Duke Lionello.
The siblings display a very cozy relationship.
Unfortunately, Barbara returns with a new husband, and Lionello becomes curious.

Abundant, full figured nudity camouflage a thin, derivative whodunit.
Pace plods along, but the scenery is lush (including the nude sybarites).
Midway, the script offers a macabre suggestion, but it doesn’t really help.

Strange Aeons - 2005 - 4/10

Anthropology professor (at Miskatonic U), watches helplessly as unsettling new student, Asenath Waite, seduces and weds his assistant.
There are gates to be opened, Shuggoths to be unleashed! And she needs a thick headed male helpmate.
Horror film is fairly faithful to HPL’s “The Thing On The Doorstep.”
Script tries to juice proceedings with nudity and coupling, but dawdles throughout.
Directing is indifferent, acting mannered, sets remind one of cheap sheets hotel.

I noted the low IMDB rating beforehand, yet watched nevertheless.
Fools clutch their hopes.
Actually, with that title, I wondered if this might be based on Robert Bloch’s “Strange Eons.”
Not to be, though that novel, its plot stuffed with references to HPL himself and his Mythos, and would make an excellent intro to that world.
This one, however, is another missed Mythos dud.

Citizen Jane: Battle For The City - 2016 - 7/10

Jane Jacobs takes on Robert Moses, staunch believer in urban renewal (ie: negro removal).
In the 50’s and 60’s, Moses was extremely influential and powerful, annihilating neighborhoods, replacing them with overpasses, bypasses, highways. Cars vs people.
Rough, albeit safe, blocks were leveled and high rise tenements erected. Crime exploded.
This occurred not only in Gotham, but across the States.
Moses crushed opposition: business owners, neighborhood groups, politicos.
Jacobs and her supporters took his machine on, over and over.
^

Note: I have been in numerous battles against the faceless, imperious palisade.
City Hall, highway developers, zoning flunkies, employing different tactics depending.
Sometimes victory, other times defeat. You must contest, however, (not mere petitions, either, get your ass in motion) or they will simply walk over your rights.
Jacobs is inspirational, and essential viewing for anyone taking on "the man”.

The Aeronauts - 2019 - 6/10

“Inspired by true events” *
Victorian scientist James Glaisher believes the upper atmosphere holds keys to predicting the weather.
In scientific circles he is scoffed and ridiculed.
Not to fear, he finds a partner in balloonist, crowd performer, Amanda Wren.
Personality clashes notwithstanding, an ascent is guaranteed.
The photography, the cloud photography, is spectacular, begging for a huge screen.
As entertainment, this is OK, unless you cannot bear the opening ten minutes.
Historic accuracy? Well …

• There was an actual James Glaisher, who actually did cross the 30,000 foot level.
  NOT with Amanda Wren, however, but with Henry Tracey Coxwell, preeminent balloonist of the era.
  If politically correct, gender whitewashing sticks in your craw, you might want to pass this by.
  Should you be hungry for a popcorn film, this fluff will satisfy.

Lady Frankenstein - 1971 - 5/10
AKA - La Figlia di Frankenstein

Body snatchers deliver another casket to the spacious castle.
Villagers even know who lives there, one Baron Frankenstein, whose history is known.
What is less known is that he had a daughter, who returns after becoming a surgeon.
Some money was spent on casting, dollops more on costumes and sets.
The plot, which could have been penned by an eight year old, is of the creation of a tall “monster” who swiftly escapes and roams the countryside killing everyone he sees.
Not Universal, let alone Hammer, but the sexual encounters are plentiful and a few over the top.

Black Magic: Part 2 - 1976 - 6/10
AKA - Gōu Hún Jiàng Tóu// 勾魂降頭

In name sequel to the 1975 feature boasts the same cast, though in different roles.
Here, Lieh Lo plays the scowling, evil magician who needs breast milk to remain young.
Using blood magic, the shaman gains control over females, then increases their milk production by mixing their pubic hair into a potion and having them drink.
If one perishes, no biggee, he just turns them into zombies and adds to his cellar collection.
The film has a dozen ideas and plots, and is equal measures manic and zany.
Events bound at a breathneck pace in this laugh out loud and terribly politically incorrect film.
Meaning, even our “heroes” display a profound lack of restraint (midnight graverobbing, anyone?).
Wonderful.

The Kindness Of Strangers - 2019 - 6/10

A woman flees from her physically abusive husband, along with her two small sons.
Soon enough, we realize he is a cop and possesses all sorts of ways to track them down.
Shutting the credit cards, getting the parked car impounded.
Wait! though, she has gone to New York City, That most generous and hospitable of burgs to hide in.
While she and the boys struggle somewhat, they find many open doors.
A concurrent story follows a newly released convict, who is offered the manager post of an upscale restaurant.
Additional characters and narratives weave and tangle.
Fairy tale, set in Manhattan, sugarcoats the plight of true homelessness.

Two O’Clock Courage - 1945 - 6/10

Gent staggers along darkened street, a nasty gash in his head.
Fortunately, an attractive female cabbie picks him up, realizes he has amnesia, then takes a shine to him.
Because … a high profile murder has been committed and he could be suspect Number One!
Tom Conway in easy going B-film mystery, with many pluses for Noir fans.
This has one of Jane Greer’s earliest roles, Anthony Mann directs, Jean Brooks has a key part.
There are comic elements, so while this has the Noir look, as well as an edge, this is more light hearted.

Watching this reminded me how astonishing the output was of this generation of players.
Most worked in films (later TV), radio shows, theatre boards, even commercials.
Richard Lane, for example, who plays a nosy reporter in this, had 176 acting roles, countless OTR shows, and was Los Angles announcer for roller derby as well as wrestling matches.

Dark Matter - 2015 - 5/10

SciFi programmer that borrows from other, better, series.
Out in the galaxy, six shipmates wake from cryo-sleep, discovering their memories have been wiped.
Not to worry, the interstellar void has the internet.
Soon enough they discover they are wanted mercenaries!
Like all poorly written stereotypes (are they bad souls or good), they squabble, bond, reveal their pasts.
Hey - what about that memory loss?
The ship, the Raza, is spacious, with wide walkways, large quarters (with showers!).
Oh, and ducts, the kind one can crawl around in. Everyone still uses handguns, too. Really?
Appears the so-called creators swiped from Firefly, an altogether superior show.
Turkey leftovers for non-demanding souls. S02? Not for me.

Ewers, Hanns Heinz - The Hearts Of Kings

I had finished Ewers’ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, including the historical extras found in the fat Side Real Press edition. On Side Real’s website, I found a link to AJNA Bound, and there, this book.
Slim book, nicely presented, with illustrations that match the darkly amusing novelette.
An elderly, perhaps dying, artist summons the Duke of Orléans, son of the King.
He has a life’s work of paintings he wishes to sell, and he informs the Duke that he, acting for the State, will pay his price.
The compositions, as described, and as illustrated, are repellent and yet irresistible.
The young Duke, a stand in for you and I, is slow to grasp exactly what is on offer.
Short decadent tale, told with glee by a madman.

Mr. Sunshine - 2018 - 8/10
AKA - Miseuteo Syeonsyain // 미스터 션샤인

High stakes K-drama set primarily in the early 1900’s, a few years before the Sino-Russian War.
In the 1870’s, slave boy, Choi Yu-jin escapes a death sentence and goes to America.
Flash ahead a few decades, and Eugene Choi, Marine Captain, is assigned to the US legation in Korea.
The small nation is filled with would-be partners: the English, Russians, Americans, Japanese.
Seeking control.
Friendships and alliances ebb and surge, knives are drawn to carve up the country.

More than most K-dramas, the characters are nuanced and well developed.
Attention to detail is astounding. The series looks like a million bucks.
In line with historical events, the tone grows increasingly fatalistic and foreboding, and begins to deliver one emotional punch after another.

Several romances (this is a K-drama!), in between a lot of “history.”
The personages and facts are as shifty as modern history.
There was a Righteous Army, there was a war between Russia and Japan.
And Koreans fought desperately to retain their sovereignty.
Yet the globe has a dire history of the small oppressed by the powerful.

Underverden - 2017 - 6/10
AKA - Darkland

Late Liam Neeson territory here, without Mr. Neeson himself.
Meaning, the path of bloody revenge.
After Yasin botches a bank robbery, he is brutally murdered.
His older brother, a heart surgeon, begins to investigate.
Dr. Zaid, violently warned off, opts to train his fighting skills.
Yes, just what your own family physician or dentist would do.
Not a bad film, helped by a 80’s synth score and a cadre of baddies.
Aside from the suspension of disbelief, which is considerable, the “heroic” Zaid, is, in many ways, less sympathetic than the head villain.

Steep - 2007 - 6/10

Documentary catches the “extreme sport” of steep downhill skiing.
I found the early section more enjoyable.
The pioneers in the early 70’s who skied the Grand Teton and Chamonix.
Hard core guys who climbed to the top, then leapt forth.

55 minutes in, however, we hit the later crew. Moneymakers.
Guys who ascend using helicopters, one who jumps with a parachute.
The phrase “film season” is mentioned in the same breath with “performing.”
Cashing in, the elite daredevils ferry rich turistas into back ranges and peddle exclusivity.

These shows, along with numerous Mount Everest docs, inspire self centered smurfs to demand this experience.
Endless lines up Everest, a chain of helicopters in Alaska, followed by,
“Oops, I done fall! Hep me! Hep! How am I gonna pay? I’m entitled! Hep!”

I Remember You - 2017 - 6/10
AKA - Ég man þig

Young married couple and female friend decide to rehab a derelict building into a summer B n B.
The building and abandoned church are on a remote Icelandic isle.
Concurrently, an elderly woman commits suicide in a church leaving authorities a puzzle.
Solid mystery creeps into haunting territory.
One individual in particular seems cursed, or they possess second sight.
Two thirds in, an odd, perhaps Icelandic theory mixes with perceived Christian symbolism.
Nothing too original here. Atmospheric surroundings, and narrative jumps should hold your attention.

The House By The Cemetery - 1981 - 5/10
AKA - Quella Villa Accanto al Cimitero

Doctor Peterson dumps his wife and shacks up with his girlfriend in the rambling house.
Before the opening credits, he murders her, then commits suicide.
Yeah, yeah, backstory. Next, Doctor Boyle decides to continue Peterson’s research.
He takes his headcase wife, and whiny moppet son Bob, to the same big ole house.
By the cemetery. Inside, the cellar door is nailed shut. For how long, you wonder.

The family hears voices, sobbings. The house is haunted. Do they bolt out the door?
There’s a burial slab inside the house. Who is buried there? Whoa, it’s Professor Freudstein!
A mysterious babysitter is hired. Moppet Bob chats with a girl no one else sees.
On and on. Lucio Fulci film piles incidents and ideas slapdash, with no thought of continuity or logic.
An utter mess. Nevertheless, I sat there, transfixed, wondering what would happen next.

Under Siege - 1992 - 6/10

Though considered “too mainstream” by Seagal’s old school fans, this remains a guilty pleasure
From the era of “action heroes” (which bloated into “super heroes”), Steven Seagal plays lowly Navy cook on a battleship that falls under the control of mercenaries.
Seagal, you guessed it, more than a mere cook, takes on the hijackers.
Mindless film benefits from excellent villains, Tommy Lee Jones and Gary Busey.
Even the second tier villains are great.
Seagal, also, is not a one man show. He receives assistance from supporting characters.
Followed by an inferior sequel and a seemingly endless stream of chest-thumping duds for Seagal.
“It’s not a job, it’s an adventure.”

Ladies Who Do - 1963 - 6/10

A char woman finds a tossed cigar in the trash, wraps it in a scrap of paper, a gives to the retired Colonel, whose home she also cleans.
And that scrap of paper? An internal memo from property speculators.
The Colonel phones his broker, shorts a position to the tune of £5000, and then cleans up.
He shares his profits, and the woman realizes she has a new tactic to save her block from - you guessed it - property developers.
Beady eyed satire strikes a lot of marks. Class divisions, income levels, unions, police.
A bit dated, but the comedy rollicks along, and Peggy Mount is an unforgettable force of nature.

Parasite - 2019 - 7/10
AKA - Gisaengchoong // 기생충

A film of levels. Strata. Ground floor, upper floors. Basement, sub-basement.
Likewise, social levels. Class.
Poor family struggles to survive in pricey urban South Korea.
They mooch wifi and toil low-end, piece work jobs, but life is not sweet.
Via an old classmate friend, the son lands a tutoring job for a privileged daughter.
You watch, as the family maneuvers to shift themselves into the household, cuckoo like.
Inside, economic and social disparities slowly bloom with an aroma that everyone keeps sniffing.
A simmering boil, this will likely be viewed differently, depending on your economic situation.
Affluent will say, “Demand references and check them.” Poor, “Welcome to our world.”
Middle class, however, who are slipping globally, will recognize their future with horror.

L’Amant Double - 2017 - 6/10
AKA - Double Lover

Ex model, now museum attendant, sees a psychiatrist for personal issues.
Quicker than you can read the professional ethics guidelines, they have an affair, and she moves in with him.
Then, like Pandora, she begins to wonder about this perfect partner.
And soon discovers he has a secret twin. Also a psychiatrist!
Or - is this simply him, combing his hair differently?
Or - maybe she isn’t exactly cured. Is she imagining things?

François Ozon thriller lurches between suspense and far-fetched.
More sex and nudity than some cultures will approve of, as well as mirrors (for those of you into symbolism) in almost every scene.

The Flu That Killed Fifty Million - 2018 - 7/10

Excellent documentary of the influenza that killed 50-100 million in 1918-1919.
Far, far more died than those in the Great War.
Accurately pinpoints where it began (Kansas, not Spain) and the exact individual.
Pioneering efforts to discover and control were limited by technological shortcomings, as well as officialdom in denial.
For the latter, think climate change deniers who hold political power.
Modern reenactments are minimal, this relies more on vintage photos, newsreels, charts.
Great if you are into this.
Afterthought in 2018 was not if there will be another pandemic, but when.

Influenza 1918 - 1998 - 6/10

Part of the “American Experience” series.
As such, there are a couple of talking head “experts” along with a host of individuals sharing their memories.
So you have these seniors, who were young children in 1918, airing their experiences.
There are newsreels, vintage photos, yet minimal science, scant history.
In contrast, The Flu That Killed 50 Million from 2018, kept a detailed history and reenacted dialogue using letters, journals and memoirs. That version gets the nod from me because the history is better.
Topical - US politicians in 1918 denied the growing crisis and kept reassuring the public.
One senior gave a good definition of their “age of innocence.”
“… we really didn’t know what was ahead …”

Foto Proibite di Una Signora Per Bene - 1970 - 6/10
AKA - The Forbidden Photos Of A Lady Above Suspicion

“Today, I quit smoking, and drinking,” Minou muses while lolling in the bubble bath. “I ought to stop these pills, too.”
All the while, she puffs, pops and swigs.
Nerves, understand? And she is a trifle unstable.
Minou then dresses provocatively, walks the wharf at night, and attracts a stalker.

Too late, she is in deep to blackmail and sexual gamesmanship.
Early “erotic thriller” boasts plenty of skin, hardly any nudity.
The plot layers madness with tension, ending with a satisfying who and why.

Biblia Koshodô no Jiken Techô - 2013 - 7/10
AKA - Antiquarian Bookshop Biblia’s Case Files
ビブリア古書堂の事件手帖

Wonderful J-dorama for people in love with reading, addicted to books - real books, especially used books.
Set in a cozy, golden hazed bookshop, Biblia Antiquarian Bookshop Case Files revels in ordinary, seemingly impossible mysteries that proprietress Shinokawa has an uncanny knack for deciphering.
Just as well, too, as the puzzles get harder and ofttimes deadlier with each week.
Many of the problems are affairs of the heart, others plunge into the obsessive realm of book collectors.
Therein might hint why this imaginative, clever series fared so poorly ratings wise.
Non-readers might have felt excluded, believing it was targeting a very limited audience.
Then again, a lot of people don’t like books and actually dislike reader types.
Shinokawa’s tall male assistant, Goura, acts as Watson to her Holmes, asking questions about the books referenced, and jumping to impulsive (invariably wrong) solutions to the mysteries.
Marvelous little series. Perfect for wet nights.

Note: If you need subs, I overhauled. – – https://subscene.com/subtitles/antiquarian-bookshop-biblias-case-files-biblia-koshodou-no-jiken-techou/english/1161627

The Town That Loves Books: Arts At Hay - 2014 - 6/10

Documentary on the biggest book fair in Britain, in small Hay-on-Wye.
Dealers, publishers, authors, celebrities, fan-fiction, fans, rain rain rain.
Doc is hopeful one frame, worrisome the next.
On one hand it is reassuring to see people buying and taking an interest in books.
On the other, publishing houses are dwindling, and it is harder for new writers, save celebrity authors.
Thanks to self publishing, anyone can be an author! Though no one may buy your book.
I watched this with avid book types - they were in a happy place.

Quiet Please: Murder - 1942 - 6/10

Brisk thriller / mystery, with the main characters very much the villains.
Smoothie George Sanders is a rare book thief.
After well-publicized thefts, he creates quality forgeries which he peddles to unscrupulous collectors.
They can’t well verify if the book is real, and if they find out, who can they complain to?
Great plan, eh?
Except one forgery is sold to a Nazi agent, buying for Hermann Goering.
During a blackout, Sanders and his duplicitous colleague (sensual Gail Patrick) find themselves trapped in a vast public library, along with a private investigator and those pesky Nazis, demanding a refund!
Fun little B-movie, very much of its time.