Vultural

I am on the fence, waiting to see if this concludes or turns into another unfinished soap opera.

The Mambo Kings - 1992 - 6/10

Cesar and Nestor hit New York in the 1950’s, determined to swagger into the music scene.
Cesar is ambitious, Nestor wants a quieter life, perhaps a small club.
If the film was mostly Cesar, it would rock harder.
Nestor (Antonio Banderas) is a bit of a wet noodle, pining over his love left behind in Cuba.
Music is hot throughout, propelling the film and compensating for the soapy bits.
Assante steals the film as driven, yet honor bound, older brother.

Flirting - 1991 - 6/10

Adolescent misfit Danny is shipped off to a boys school where he is even more isolated and bullied.
During an outing, he meets an African girl and they share an unlikely attraction.
Mind you, this is early 1960’s Australia. She is black, he is white, the result is outrage.
A lot of melodrama could have been milked from this, yet instead it is a gentle comedy.
Probably the best route, as the film is wise and enjoyable.
I kept telling Danny, “Dude, she’s too big for you,” even though I rooted for them as a couple.
Young talent who went further include Thandiwe Newton, Naomi Watts and Nicole Kidman.

She Wore A Yellow Ribbon - 1949 - 7/10

Similar to “one last bank job”, here a cavalry officer is on the eve of retirement.
When Custer and his men are massacred at Little Big Horn, and it appears a range war is imminent.
Commander Brittles is assigned to “sort matters”, hopefully as peacefully as possible.
Large scale Western benefits from Monument Valley locations, as well as a convoluted narrative.
Instead of events leading inexorably to a huge crescendo, there are more feints and skirmishes.
A good Western, and good John Wayne role.
Too often, I feel he plays a version of himself. Here, he resembles a tired, wise commander.

Bitter Moon - 1992 - 6/10

Sea voyage. Two couples. A pragmatic marriage, and the soured fail
Not that it has failed, as they are still together.
Yet, it is now love / hate. They have inflicted too much emotional and physical pain on each other.
They share anecdotes, lowlites of their marriage, as the quieter couple hear in horrid fascination.
This is a chamber play of slow poisoning. Mean spirited and bile bitter.
One gets the feeling that director Polanski revels in dragging viewers into misery.
Know your appetite for this. I would urge caution.

Last Embrace - 1979 - 5/10

After Harry’s wife is killed in a shootout, he spends a few months in a sanitarium.
Then he declares himself ready to return to work. Harry is some kinda agent.
The agency, distrusting his sanity, orders him whacked.
Meanwhile, he’s received a death threat in Hebrew (Aramaic, actually).
Wait! A doctoral student has sublet his New York apartment.
Complicated enough for you? This will only grow more farfetched and preposterous.
A throwback thriller with an evocative Miklos Rosza score, and excellent settings.
The narrative, the plotting, the motivation, all farfetched, to say the least.

Blakeston, Oswell - The Hut And Other Stories Of Dread

Occult Press unearths a bit of obscurity here. Blakeston, pseudonym for Henry David Hasslacher, had a colorful career, starting out as a conjuror’s assistant. The stories in this range far and wide.

It’s the headache, beastly thing, that steered events. David leaves work early, races for the train, and lands himself in First Class. In “Adventure Without Asking” David finds his equilibrium worsening, along with the migraine. Then, there is persistently yawning, repellent, gnome-like man.

Was the death murder? Or something else? In a sealed room, by drowning, in “The Mysterious Fluid”. Houdini is not called, but the superintendent is well versed in magician trickery.

“The Hut” is a particularly nasty place. Perhaps not the dwelling, although it had been the site of hideous evil before. Such places always seem to attract the wrong element, as well a stream of fools.

Superintendent Deering features several times. “The Disappearance” follows him in pursuit of a criminal organizer. A receiver of stolen property, a fence to employ slang. This bears a touch of what might have passed for SciFi in the 1930’s.

“The Secret Of The Graves” is the longest, and the closest to Pulp. A child’s grave has been desecrated and the village newcomer is Suspect #1. The mystery, and not a harmless one, involves a hard-nosed village cop, a troubled medium, and an isolated manor.

There are also two extra pieces that skirt around Austin Osman Spare. Readers with knowledge of the London artist will appreciate these more.

Spiral - 2005 - 6/10
AKA - Engrenages

A female corpse is found in a junkyard, body mutilated beyond recognition.
Gendarmes and a magistrate try to determine who she was, why she was murdered.
That is the overall arc. There is also a baby killing, smuggling, corrupt cop, the usual.
Mix of procedural and soap opera, meaning characters’ mini dramas.
Highly absorbing if you like getting lost in characters.
Me? I couldn’t’ care less and won’t return for additional seasons.

Picture Brides - 1934 - 6/10

Brazil. The women ride the steamer into the jungle where the diamond mine is.
And the men. Who ordered brides Specifying blondes…
They warn one that her peroxide will eventually run out. “Too late then,” she laughs.
The men are a mixed lot, from a crafty, brutal overseer to an embezzler on the run.
Pre-Code film is missing eight minutes. Attempted rape, rape aftermath, and innuendo dialogue.
Alan Hale and Dorothy Mackaill overshadow the others as the wicked boss and sharp-tongued hussy.
If puzzled, consider 1932 was still Depression era, leading many to desperate choices.

Night Shift - 2010 - 5/10

The office workers have left a mess. Blood, entrails, and a mob of zombies.
The flask swigging janitor takes it in stride. He’s paid to clean up, after all.
Budget horror short is cheap looking, and goofy throughout.
That said, there are plenty of good jokes in this. (Beer or reefer may help.)
You could do worse.

Jane Anger - 2022 - 5/10

Jane is the “dark lady”, muse for Shakespeare’s sonnets.
After a brief introduction, she disappears for much of the play.
Instead, we have the bard and his boorish go-fer huddled in their one room.
Will’s pen has run dry. He recalls old triumphs, yet suffers writer’s block.
Jane does eventually reappear, as does Anne Hathaway (the wife).
For a feminist work, the females don’t do much; wife Anne is inaudible.
The humor is silly, primarily delivered by the men, who show razor rapport.
Forced farce, tries too hard to be funny.

Possession - 1981 - 7/10

Mark returns from another lengthy mission, only to find wife Anna unresponsive and wanting out.
She denies another man, yet he quickly finds the name Heinrich.
The two men come to blows, while Anna returns home sporadically, yet emotionally distracted.
After disappearing from both men, Mark hires a detective agency.
Then things get really weird.
Possession relates to relationships, emotionally and physically, especially carnally.
Also obsession, along with the inklings of doppelgangers.
This can be an especially draining watch, with the emotional outbursts.
Although Mark (Sam Neill) is the focus, keep trained on Anna (Isabel Adjani) who is both possessive and possessed.
Get the UNCUT version. Possibly watch twice, unless your are grossed out by intense scenes.

Dark Tide - 2012 - 4/10

Supposedly a “shark film”, although Carcharodon sightings seem sparse, and waters are murky.
They needed a better agent.
Speaking of agents, Halle Berry is ostensibly the star, and she is shrill and whiny throughout.
This role makes her look like a fool.
Anyway, after a shark attack, Berry’s character gives up research and lets her business go to hell.
Until a rich tycoon appears with 100,000 if she will let him go swimming with sharks.
Almost immediately, one despises him almost as much as Berry and her husband.
Grief … the waters are dark much of the time. Sharks have to be punched in the nose to attack.
Very disappointing, unless martial bickering and squabbling is your thing.

Willeford, Charles - Understudy For Death

Richard toils the graveyard shift at the small town rag in Florida.
He has a wife, a son, yet he works nights so during the day he can polish his play.
Been working on that play five years already.
The managing editor assigns him a story about a local murder / suicide.
Young mother, who killed her two children before herself.
Richard is a piece of work, antagonizing most everyone he encounters.
Likely his wife Beryl most all. Beryl is Southern belle down to her heels and wonderful to read.
The book is another left field title from Hard Case Crime, as there is no crime, aside from suicide which generally distresses most folks.
Lot of carnal bouncing in this, although not graphic (originally published in 1961).
Similar to John Dexter fare, or titles from Candid Reader or Late-Hour Library.
While the narrative meandered and muddled along, I did enjoy it.
Not necessarily main character Richard, but the supporting characters and especially his sly bride.

The Blonde Witch - 1956 - 6/10
AKA - La Sorcière

Brulard, Parisian engineer is dispatched to a Swedish timber baron.
Baroness, actually, widowed and attractive, if aloof.
The locals are superstitious, reluctant to do certain things.
Brulard is forceful, however, both with the project, and in melting the owner’s heart.

Until he encounters Aino, a wild, untamed dweller in the woods.
Villagers view her as a witch, while he sees her as an innocent, and disturbingly beautiful.
There are elements that suggest supernatural, although Aino is closer to a “wise woman”.
Brulard, who I think perceives himself as a player, is naive and callous about females.

The Brother From Another Planet - 1984 - 6/10

Who is actually an escaped slave from another planet.
He lands in New York, and is viewed as another street person as his clothes are shabby.
Plus, he is black and is mute. An outsider. Yet, a curious and gentle soul.
Soft sell, fish out of water story, with an undercurrent of community and slavery.
The latter runs throughout as there are “bounty hunters” on his trail.
Joe Morton amazing in non-speaking role, communicating eloquently with gestures and expressions.

Cobra - 1925 - 6/10

Count Torriani, hounded and pursued by women across Italy, soon sails for New York.
Where he finds the New York ladies are just as attractive, just as interested, just as brazen.
The Count is an exotic addition to an art dealer, particularly his breeding and charm.
Problem is, females, quite literally, fascinate him.
“Cobra” refers to females who spellbind the Count, who is weak for flesh.
Valentino good in this slouching melodrama, with an air of entitlement and foolishness.
Sets by Cameron Menzies are, always, flat out something else.
Forgotten today, Nita Naldi plays the full-figured vamp who beguiles our Count.

Attack The Block - 2011 - 5/10

Returning home, Samantha is mugged at knifepoint by a teenage gang.
Robbery, heading towards rape when a fallen meteorite distracts.
Emerging / transforming is a furry alien with hungry teeth.
A series of attack – counterattack between numerous furballs and thugs.
Honestly, I did not know who to root for. Aliens, no. Petty hoodlums, as if.
Decent comedy situations, laughably cheap effects, dicey acting.

Gannibal: S02 - 2025 - 7/10
AKA - Gan’nibaru 2 / /ガンニバル

All the tension that had been mounting throughout S01 boils over and explodes here.
This is a wildly violent season, with multiple gun battles.
And bloodletting, a tremendous spillage.

This season showcases the backstory of the Goto family, and their acquired attitude.
Youthful Gin Goto, in particular, as the beautiful, sex-driven female – with a grudge.
The family has a history of dealing with Kuge Village, with the police, a lot of police.
Officer Agawa, however, booted out of Tokyo, is a borderline psychopath.
Japanese exploitation fans, this is manna.

Gannibal - 2022 - 6/10
AKA - Gan’nibaru / /ガンニバル

Officer Agawa is transferred to sleepy village of Kuge.
He carries a history and superiors hope the tranquil mountain area will sort him.
The previous village officer had disappeared under mysterious circumstances.
As far as peace and calm, the area is a festering web.
Inhabitants live in fear of the Goto family, amidst whispers of cannibalism.

Officer Agawa is a piece of work, however, and not one to back down.
Series (7ep) explores the dark side, is punctuated with explosive violence.
Ends on a cliffhanger, although S02 has finished airing.

You have stamina, friend.

The Silencers - 1966 - 5/10

Initial Matt Helm installment plays the agent strictly for laughs.
Helm is now retired, living as a glamour photographer. (pretty girls)
His old agency discovers a threat to initiate global nuclear war - Operation Fallout, and persuades him back.
Despite a big budget, this feels like glorified Maxwell Smart to me.
Stella Stevens plays a moronic nemesis, gratingly whining and crying.
She will get on your nerves and irritate you throughout.
Funny (in a slapstick way) and successful back when. Now feeble.

Britain By The Book - 2023 - 5/10

The ought to be called “Dorset by the Book” since it stays there.
Show is predominantly the couple, who spend a lot of time horsing around and joking.
We get to enjoy a lot of drive time, most inside as scenery breezes by.
“Look! There’s Corfe Castle.” Whoosh.
Note: Our driver squints throughout, she ought to wear glasses.
One author, who has since been outed for fraud, is interviewed.
Should you want to watch two juvenile hosts, this is for you.
Want to see Dorset, visit or get a guidebook. Or read Thomas Hardy.

Hannah And Her Sisters - 1986 - 7/10

Hannah is the family anchor, with one straying sister, the other struggling.
Sister Lee begins an affair with Hannah’s husband, while Holly slides from one attempt to another.
Three, four stories intertwine over roughly two years.
Part drama, more comedy, much of the comedy is emotionally dark.
Allen’s character, Mickey, searching for “meaning” in Life bounces from fad to fad.
Still, one of the Woody’s best films, winner of deserved acclaim.
Large cast of major names, excellent cinematography.

Hello, Dolly! - 1969 - 5/10

The widowed matchmaker attempts to find a match for an “almost millionaire”.
Then there’s the rich man’s niece and her impoverished boyfriend.
Which the rich man properly says “No’ to. (Except in films, artists rarely make money.)
All sorts of stratagems and subterfuges follow.
With way too many characters and an over-complicated plot
Add a batch of songs, most highly unmemorable, and you have a musical turkey.
This is one of those films that killed musicals back when.
I was, and remain a Streisand fan which is why I watched this back in the day.
Recent rewatch – just as bad. And the vinyl ST, it ain’t “Funny Girl”.