Vultural

Fear City: A Family-Style Comedy - 1994 - 6/10
AKA - La Cité de la Peur

The slasher film, Red Is Dead, is so bad, even critics refuse to write about it.
Until life imitates art, and a maniacal series killer starts cutting theater staff.
Bad press is better than no press, and murders are best of all!
Suddenly the terrible movie is buzz worthy at Cannes.
Hit n miss comedy is loaded with film references, gags, and lots of cameos.
The form swings between farce and innuendo and slapstick.
Misfires might have been French puns that I missed.
If you have a fondness for silly (and those around me laughed throughout) this is for you.

Boiler Room - 2000 - 7/10

Investment advisor cold calls the sheep.
OK, deadbeat Seth hires on as trainee at small, high-rolling brokerage house.
Specialty? Aggressive sales of shaky stocks and municipals.
Targets? Greedy rich, overworked professionals, wannabees, fools.
This is hardly a legitimate firm. Ethics are casual.
Rapid fire, blistering paced film is an soured fun ride.
Probably worse if you are among the fleeced.

The New Age - 1994 - 5/10

Odd indie film about the yuppie couple, going broke in glossy LA.
They are foolish with money, their careers unsatisfying.
Satire of the hyper materialism of the Reagan / Bush years into the brink.
The couple (low key Peter Weller, crackling Judy Davis) try to reinvigorate themselves.
Today’s fads are tomorrow’s failures, and the noose of financial reality tightens.
Uncomfortably funny film, dated for a few years, now resonating again.
Watch for Judy Davis, and a surprisingly good Adam West.
Finale in the boiler room is sad, poignant, hopeful.

Weird Woman - 1944 - 6/10

Professor Reed comes across a South Seas tribal ceremony.
Among the villagers, Paula, daughter of his old mentor.
Even before we witness sparks, the pair are stateside, newly married.
Where the college is now something like a snakepit.
Fortunately for Prof Reed, Paula knows magic spells to protect him!
Version of Fritz Leiber’s “Conjure Wife”, bears passing resemblance to the source.
Nary a supernatural element in this academic melodrama.
Breezy commentary by Justin Humphreys and Del Howison goes into Leiber and Chaney.
As well as the three leading ladies who had deep roots in Horror.
At barely an hour, watch the film, rewind for the comments.

Mulholland Drive - 2001 - 8/10

The only Lynch item I like, despite baffling elements with every rewatch.
A dense film about identity, reality, madness, narcissism, Hollywood.
Betty, hoping to make it big in Hollywood arrives at her aunt’s bungalow, and finds amnesiac Rita.
Betty auditions, moguls tug the strings. Then she and Rita search for clues about the latter’s amnesia.
One almost has to view this three times before half the plot makes sense.
On physical copies (eg: DVD) Lynch has left “helpful hints” on what to watch for.
They may be helpful, they may be jokes from this, at times, maddening director.
A hypnotic film.

Warning! Faithful fans already know the site below.
New arrivals to Mulholland Drive, visit at your own risk:
https://www.mulholland-drive.net/studies/theories.htm

The Doors - 1991 - 7/10

Iffy biopic of the group, focusing on frontman, Jim Morrison.
Val Kilmer disappears into Morrison, even doing much of his own singing.
Film charts the genesis on Venice Beach though heyday, debauchery, odd conclusion.
Midway, the film captures the fin de siècle vibe of the 60’s end.
Purists and band members have a problem with Stone’s storyline, as he seems to use the Doors’ narrative as a metaphor for the decade itself.
This is not Jim the poet, this is gonzo Jim, the lizard king, Jimbo. This unbalances the movie.
Outstanding music, stellar casting (save for Meg Ryan who is too wholesome, too prudish).
Flawed as history, but spectacular in its own right.

The Mists Of Memory - 2017 - 6/10
AKA - Les Brumes du Souvenir

The honorary mayor of an obliterated village in Verdun is murdered on the eve of Armistice Day.
Thousands of Great War bodes are still unearthed, targets for looters who sell relics online.
Searching, another, more recent skeleton is dug up.
Local police expect a prosecutor to arrive, not a rival detective since locals may be “too close”.
This breaks with most French mysteries, which invariably pair a detective with a legal official,
Also, the local gendarme continually marginalizes and undercuts the detective.
Watchable French mystery shuffles along by fits and starts.

Kirk, Richard A - Magpie’s Ladder

And the ladder is long, extending into the Darkling Lands, realm of Mr. Magpie, a puzzling character who Lily senses she ought to avoid, focus on her work, her marriage, and yet she is drawn.
Nor is Magpie as harmless as he seemed, as Lily discovers to her despair. The title story is one of bitter experience, the price of education that leaves a scar.
George has been with the firm for ages. From the previous chairman to his son. The is not enough pay, so he boosts his revenue with a little … well … counterfeiting has such a connotation, doesn’t it? He is caught, although in “The Engrosser” he is given an option. Descend to the basement – no, deeper than that – and find out what is going on down there.
“Elephant Bridge” floats downstream with weathered Aunt Justine and young Gillian. Very far, down to where the bridge is, the structure that allegedly contains hundreds of wooden drawers. The old are seldom curious, but the young, oh, how insatiable their inquisitiveness.
A collection that goes into secrets, although answers are not forthcoming and rarely satisfy. On the plus side, this packed with Kirk’s illustrations. Readers of Clive Barker, Caitlín Kiernan, China Miéville, Thomas Ligotti will recognize his style immediately.

Ever After - 1998 - 7/10

Charming adaptation of Cinderella, applying a few modern sensibilities.
Cinderella here is a rather feisty heroine, a can-do girl who strives.
A fine family film, this not Disney, not Hallmark… No cloying syrup in this.
Drew Barrymore, well cast, has enough girlishness for the role.
She also really sells her character.
The rest of the cast is first rate, from Angelica Huston to Jeanne Moreau.
As noted, a good family film, bordering on classic, one your kids won’t roll their eyes at.

Blume In Love - 1973 - 5/10

Nina divorces hotshot lawyer Blume (George Segal), who cannot accept she left him.
And that she has taken up with a laid back musician (Kris Kristofferson).
Well acted, but this basic love triangle borders on obsessive melodrama.
Aside from Kristofferson and a radiant Marsha Mason, the characters are narcissists.
Unless you were there, and still remember, the 70’s were “The Me Decade”.
While this showcases that attitude, along with the empty, hedonistic values, the character stories are rather trite if not outright boring.
A message film, and the final message is flat out wrong. Even for the 70’s.

Conan The Destroyer - 1984 - 6/10

What happened here?
Conan The Barbarian (1982) was faithful to Robert E Howard and Frank Frazetta.
Brutal, sexy, dark, bloody. Breathe the Hyborian Age.
This followup is more cartoonish. Silly at times.
Anyway, the Cimmerian is tasked with escorting a virgin princess to restore a horn on the god Dagoth (Dagon?).
Adventures follow in this disappointing sequel.
Great cast, fabulous sets, all wasted.
John Milius and Oliver Stone sorely missed.

The Relic - 1997 - 6/10

Uh! Don’t drink the water. Don’t drink the medicine stew from the South American jungle tribe.
Yes, I know, one wants to fit in, be accepted, especially if you are an anthropologist.
Well, don’t blame me when you don’t feel so well upon your return to Chicago.
Then the killings start.
Glorified B-Horror is akin to monster in the museum.
OK premise of creature feasting on brains in closed building is spooky enough.
Film excessively dark, most of the characters are dull as putty.
Tolerable if you don’t analyze too much.

The Red Circle - 1970 - 8/10
AKA - Le Cercle Rouge

Before being released from prison, one of the guards tells Corey about a perfect heist.
Meanwhile, prisoner transfer Vogel escapes from a train.
Chance – Fate – Luck. The two criminals meet, start planning the caper, assembling the team.
Wonderful Noir is an example of minimalism and efficiency.
Almost no music, dialogue is spare.
These are professionals, men, who respect each other and don’t babble like 30 year old manboys.
Honor among thieves, at odds with human weakness and treachery.

Something For Everyone - 1970 - 7/10

Wickedly funny comedy will definitely not be for all tastes.
Konrad is the charming, young opportunist who glides into the castle of the von Ornsteins.
They are impoverished, as is he, yet he is calculating.
As daughter Lotte declares, “Thinking all of the time. Clickety-click.”
Enter the visiting nouveau riche boors, what they lack in manners, they compensate with gobs of money.
One can see how this failed in the States. Much too European in sensibilities and sexuality.

L’autre Aile - 1923 - 6/10

After Reymat perishes in an aeroplane crash, wealthy fiancé Hélène decides to be an aviatrix
In no time flat, this buxom beauty is the toast of the tarmac.
The press adores her, men chase and grope after her, women hate her.
One even tries to kill her!
Yes, Grade A melodrama.
Restoration is outstanding, tinting sublime, aerial sequences likely state of the art in the 1920’s.

Rocketship X-M - 1950 - 6/10

On a trip to the Moon, X-M over-accelerates and is swept to Mars.
Well, as long as we are here, our crew decides to explore.

Finding an extinct, advanced civilization. Catastrophe? No, nuclear war.
Very low budget is blessing and curse for “message” film.
Thought provoking, yet the odd series of predicaments look cheap.
Lloyd Bridges leads this old favorite, enjoyable if you don’t dissect the “science” too much.

Ruby - 2020 - 6/10

Unemployed, bills piling up, Ava decides to take on phone work.
Adult phone work. Not for prudes, not for squeamish, as callers can be pretty filthy.
There is a stalker, though. One who realizes who she is, where she lives.
Short, borderline thriller, too mild-mannered to be erotic, and lacks thrills.

Clarence And Ginni Thomas: Politics, Power And The Supreme Court - 2023 - 7/10

Informative documentary, very enlightening about background and influence.
Clarence Thomas is especially interesting, viewing his swing from young Malcolm X radical to far right Conservative.
Ginni Thomas less compelling, as she was a very conservative child, and never changed.
The closer the time frame nears our current period, the more producers tiptoe.
There is money involved, perhaps influence peddling, perhaps bribery, which is briefly commented on.
Also, by extension, if justices can be purchased, then Courts are corrupt and meaningless.

Mocata said:

Huh I really need to catch up with Ringo Lam especially Wild Search. Are you on letterboxd?

No. The two main sites I swing by are here and the nihilist forum devoted to Thomas Ligotti.

Deconstructing Harry - 1997 - 7/10

Harry is a quasi-autobiographical novelist, pilfering his own history and that of family and friends.
(Nothing new there, I’m afraid. Artists swipe from everyone around them, me included.)
Harry, played by Allen, has substance abuse issues, is a womanizer, self-loathing and arrogant.
A dark, uncomfortably funny film, gouging fame and pride.
There is a memorable side trip, make that down side, to Hell, where Harry argues with Satan.
Film is packed with moments, but much of the humor consists of in-jokes at Allen’s expense.
Many “know” something about Allen, or think they know him, based on the rumor cesspool.
A sticky, ugly joyride, best for strong stomachs.
Note: The gallery of talent for this, even bit-parts, is incredible.

Death Of England - 2020 - 7/10

One man, tour de force by Rafe Spall.
Working class man is severely buffeted by outside disorder.
Brexit implications emerging.
Michael’s racist father, over stimulated during the 2018 World Cup semis.
He hurtles back and forth across a slim stage, spewing rage, despair, ever on the brink of completely losing it.
Spall is riveting. Spitting lines a mile a minute, slipping into characters. His father, mother, sister, customers.
The energy is boundless, even engaging with audience members.
Nonetheless, this is quite English. Viewers should have a tight grasp of Brexit before and after.
Likewise football, particularly the year 2018, when “It’s Coming Home” promised so much.

Valentine, Mark - Time, A Falconer: A Study Of Sarban

Labor of love from Mr. Valentine will be a trove for ardent fans of Sarban, a curio for the casual.

Sarban”s (John William Wall) life, long experience and success in the diplomatic corps, along with sundry relationships. The latter seems a mixed selection of suppressed longings and misspent alliances. Compared with his civil service, his personal life is somewhat shrouded.

Most readers will delve into his literary progress, which launched almost happenstance. But of this wife’s prodding, there may well have been no Sarban.

The book flows nicely and is enlightening. One wishes Sarban had written more, yet writing is largely an unrewarding task.
Kudos to Mr. Valentine for a biography that yields more than expected.

Wild Search - 1989 - 6/10
AKA - Ban wo chuang tian ya // 伴我闖天涯

Detective Mew receives a tip of a major gun deal.
The bust goes wrong, with most escaped or dead, including the mother of a small girl.
Gritty Ringo Lam actioner dawdles midway, yet boasts explosive set pieces.
Chow Yun-Fat’s Mew is underwritten (brief mention of the deaths of his wife and son).
Nevertheless, he shares warm chemistry with Cherie Chung (the small girl’s aunt).
Comic breaks don’t always play well, and the film has a bit of a hashed feel.
While not as well known as more famous examples, this is prime Hong Kong cinema.

Demons Of The Mind - 1972 - 6/10

Fleeing through the woods, Elizabeth is befriended by a young, hermit scholar.
After an idyllic night, she is recaptured and taken back to the forbidding manor.
Home of the baron. Her father. Whom one realizes is a control type. And mad.
Set somewhere in middle Europe, this well shot Hammer production touches on several taboos.
Cursed bloodlines, incest, Christian zealotry, surviving paganism.
Fair amount of female nudity, as well as romping.
Despite a languid pace, there are enough goings-on to hold interest.

Japan’s Nazi Alliance Mastermind - 2021 - 6/10
AKA - A Man Who Aligned Japan With The Nazis

WWII footnote,
Hiroshi Ōshima, Japanese ambassador to Berlin, helps align the two nations.
He was influential in writing the Anti-Comintern Pact in 1936, followed by the Tripartite Pact in 1940.
The notion that the Axis would aid each other was folly, with dire consequences.
His prediction that the Wehrmacht would trounce the Red Army was a catastrophic miscalculation.
Interesting documentary based on cassette tapes Ōshima recorded in the 70’s, fleshed out with an assortment of talking heads and experts.