Vultural

The Talented Mr. Ripley - 1999 - 7/10

The leechlike wannabe, hooking up with class and affluence.
Ripley is innocent, inexperienced, but wealthy Dickie takes shine to him.
For awhile, theirs is a nonstop party.
Jude Law almost steals the movie as the rich, jaded, hedonistic Ritchie.
As Ripley, however, Matt Damon navigates a sordid journey.
Impressive cast includes Cate Blanchett, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Gwyneth Paltrow.
Excellent thinking man’s thriller.

Wings Of The Dove - 1997 - 7/10

Kate’s wealthy aunt orders her to break her relationship with a cheap journalist.
As Kate’s mother had died penniless, the plan is for her to marry wealth.
Easier said than done, since the rich are well aware of the target on their back.
Enter the American heiress, whom Kate pushes her newspaper boyfriend toward.
Sumptuous adaptation of Henry James’ novel of morals, money, and calculating schemes.
Bonham Carter well cast as the adventuress Kate.
Dark theme and melancholic tone bear down as the film progresses.

Oyston, David - Poems From The Sideshow

Confession. Poetry isn’t really my bag. I lost my appetite for it decades ago. Likely my age; time dwindling by the moment, and me urging the poet to get to the damn point already.
This collection makes for an exception, however. For me. And for those who are familiar with the Broodcomb Peninsula.

The sideshow feels like a midpoint between the settlements and the caravans, with a sizeable population of geeks, gaffs and assorted misfits.

Initial section strolls from tent to tent, wagon to wagon, meeting individuals. Characters. And yes, this is poetry. This leisurely introduction is approximately half the book.

Next, a rollicking wedding. Where bashful clash with the obnoxious. Guests invited, as well as the menacing interloper. Poetry notwithstanding, on the Peninsula, danger is ever a breath away.

Following the reception, there is dispersing. Guests scatter and page after page is crammed with fragmented dialogues and thoughts. Readers who have read sections in order will be on surer footing, in that you might differentiate voices. Navigating each and every page here might intimidate.

Did I enjoy this? Not altogether. Oh, this is heady stuff. Again and again, however, my mind drifted back to the settlements, to the caravans.

One stanza lingered with me long after I closed the book:

“Always distrust the perfect smile
Crook tooth, split tooth, yellow canine
or lost incisor is more honest
than the faultless light of a white smile.”

I immediately thought of what passes for our modern smile. The rictus grin. Teeth clenched, lips raised in an ironic sneer. The social tease of the beauty contestant, the prostitute, the politician. Disdain cloaked by warmth. Frauds and fakes. While the spectators, gullible fools, are so often you and I.
Be safe out in the Wide World, friend.

Big Brown Eyes - 1936 - 6/10

Despite several high end jewel robberies, an insurance specialist has luck retrieving them.
Smooth, debonair, and he runs with criminals.
Police officer Barr heads the case, with more than a few complications.
Girlfriend Eve for example, who career shifts from manicurist to muckraking reporter.

Bipolar film is part screwball, other part cynical gangster.
Indeed, despite galloping dialogue, innuendo, laugh out loud comedy, there is an ugly undercurrent.
Cary Grant and Joan Bennett have an easy chemistry.

Nuts In May - 1976 - 6/10

Or, a camping we will go.
The Pratts, Keith and Candice Marie, arrive at a rustic Dorset campground.
Both educated, ahead of the curve in vegetarianism, anti-smoking, non-drinking.
Both pretty smug, one must say.
Sadly, yobs arrive, playing the radio, tooling noisily on a motorcycle.
Clash of class ensues, as pretty much everyone gets on each others’ nerves, including the viewer.
Early Mike Leigh comedy. I must admit a fair bit escaped me.
English subtitles = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3361065

The Ghost Story of Oiwa’s Spirit - 1961 - 6/10
AKA - Kaidan Oiwa no Borei // 怪談お岩の亡霊

Tamiya was to have been one of the 47 Ronin, but he missed the event.
Now, self-disgraced, he has turned to villainy to feed his antisocial habits.
Witnessing him murder someone, wife Ida leaves him.
He misses her, rather he misses her body, and schemes to get her back.
Until he see the glowing young daughter of his new neighbor.
Now the wife has to go.
Extremely dog-eat-dog version of the Yotsuya ghost story.
Tomisaburô Wakayama as the disgraced samurai is despicable, cunning, and lethal.

Summer City - 1977 - 5/10

Sandy is about to get married, shackled as mates would say, so the lads head to the coast for a fling.
Arguments, flirty women, the dance hall, endless pints of beer, jailbait, surfing.
All seem game for a laugh, save for Sandy, a more reserved, thoughtful type.
Counter-balanced by Boo, a loud, obnoxious throwback who antagonizes everyone.
Underrated Oz flick, where it’s not the slow pace, it’s the characters one observes.
As above, John Jarratt and Mel Gibson.
Subtitles = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3361067

Tragedy Girls - 2017 - 6/10

McKayla and Sadie are high school podcasters, influencers, reporting on a series of killings.
Police are not interested, classmates bored, and their numbers (followers) are low.
What to do? They could … arrange some of their own killings.
Black comedy of Slasher films relies on venomous dialogue over gore.
Social media’s dark side, says one observer, narcissism and shallowness.
Fear not car wreck watchers, deaths do steadily mount, a lot of them.
One views for the two femmes, however, who are sweetly irresistible.
Good soundtrack, too.

Flesh Feast - 1970 - 3/10

Grade-D nonsense, that I knew beforehand was atrocious, but I was coaxed.
Veronica Lake (final film role) as the mad Dr. Frederick, who experiments with maggots.
The goal? Restore youthful appearance, if not youth, to the subjects.
How’s that grab ya? Let maggots crawl around your face.
Cheap by every imaginable standard. Film seems to be shot in one house, with one camera.
Characters deliver lines in monotone, with zero interplay. Amateur hour all the way.
Final five minutes sizzle, unless you have glanced at 99% of reviews, in turgid twaddle.

Logan’s Run - 1976 - 6/10

Never trust anyone over 30. More than a slogan, this is the new path.
Reach 30, and citizens shall be “renewed” in the Carrousel.
Want a few more months … years … decades? Tough. There are Sandmen.
Film evolves into a hunt / chase adventure toward the goal of Sanctuary.
Diverting, even enjoyable, so long as your mind slumbers.
I am curious to view an uncut or director’s cut, but it would likely be longer nonsense.

THX 1138 - 1971 - 6/10

Embrace your Orwellian future, today!
Citizens bear the mark of the beast, numbers & letters.
Sex is forbidden, drugs are mandatory, clothes are monochrome white.
Our protagonist (Duvall) is obedient until his female mate messes with his drugs.
Sex and rebellion, followed by pursuit.
Dystopian SciFi is bare bones expansion of a George Lucas student film.
Star Wars resurrected this downer and gave it traction, yet it’s still a drag.

Newell, Martin - The Greatest Living Englishman

Compromise score this. For those unfamiliar with Newell, this is likely a 3. For readers who have several of his other books, as well as a slew of records, this is a 5. And essential.
Followup to This Little Ziggy picks up immediately after events of that memoir.
Time frame runs roughly twenty years, from 1974 to 1995.
The fatigued demise of The Mighty Plod to the “The Off White Album”.
In-between are creative adventures, as well as the slog of the ups and downs.
This entertaining book relies on diaries and journals, and feels fairly accurate.

I am long familiar with Newell the musician. In the early 1990’s coworkers at the record shop, bemused by a lizard tea party, opened The Brotherhood Of Lizards compact disc and played it in-store for a few months. I bought that, then later, “The Greatest Living Englishman” on CD, followed by more titles on small labels and from JAR.
For curious buyers, this book is exorbitantly priced at mainstream book dealers. Avoid those.
Martin sells this book direct on Bandcamp. He gave me permission to include the link.
https://thecleanersfromvenus.bandcamp.com/merch/the-greatest-living-englishman
Martin is a “cottage industry”. Support him and others like him, rather than second-hand souls.
Goodnight, Illya.

The Third Man - 1959 - 6/10

Note the release date. This is not the cynical Noir set in Vienna.
This is a reboot, with Michael Rennie playing a more urbane, genteel EX–criminal.
At half an hour, each episode hustles along as Lime aids a damsel, an old colleague, or friendly government.
This Lime is actually a throwback to the gentleman detectives of the 1930’s.
Routine mysteries, though supposedly set in exotic locales.
Passable time-waster late at night when you want to kill 30 minutes.

Wait For Your Laugh - 2017 - 6/10

Highly entertaining biography of Rose Marie.
From 3-year-old radio star, Baby Rose Marie to voice character on Garfield.
Most will recall her from The Dick Van Dyke Show and Hollywood Squares.
From beginning to end, relentless touring and stage shows.
Powerful friends include Al Capone, Joe Fischetti and Bugsy Siegel.
There are some spare reenactments of characters, but this is mostly footage and interviews.
Even at 94, she remains fierce and funny throughout.

Hanging Mirrors - 2025 - 7/10
AKA - Xuan Jing // 悬镜

The first body was found by accident.
Make that body parts. Incomplete, missing the torso.
This ignites the old guy (Simon Yam) who toils in records, recalling an unsolved case.
He teams with the younger lead, mixing styles of procedural and classic mythology.
More killings follow, none are random. Ancient practice is being followed.
Bodies placed according to Yin and Yang.

Nasty thriller that delves into archeology, history, tomb robbing, dismemberment.
Misses greatness as producers short-changed the final two minutes (hoping for Season 2).
If intrigued, go into this stone cold. Synopses in both IMDB and DramaList contain spoilers.

Calendar Girls - 2003 - 6/10

Middle aged women, members of the Women’s Institute, want to raise money for charity.
Eventually, they follow the idea of a “nude” calendar.
Nude meaning discreet and obscured.
Feel good film was a surprise hit, and still brings smiles.
Predictable, with several scruffy patches.
Big cast includes Helen Mirren, Julie Walters, Penelope Wilton, Celia Imrie.

Borderline - 1930 - 6/10

Groundbreaking film, far ahead of its time.
Paul Robeson stars as a husband whose wife is having an affair with a white man.
The local cafe where he resides tolerates the brouhaha, and him.
Villagers, however, see the affair as disruptive and blame Negroes for the problems.
A few, explicit in their racism.
Enjoyment may depend …
An experimental film, both in narrative and in editing, yet the pace is glacial.
Slow to say the least. Silent film, with very, very few intertitles.

We’re All Gonna Die - 2022 - 6/10

Yes, one way or another. All men are mortal.
Host Baruchel angsts over mass events: pandemic, nuclear war, global warming, alien invasion.
He is a Chicken Little ninny, overdramatizing constantly as if he were unboxing for his mommy.
The idea of mass annihilation has already been covered more thoroughly and less foolishly in How To Survive The End Of The World (2013), minus the pity party indulged in here.
Should this get rebooted – again – please let Philomena Cunk have a bash at it.

Harsch, Rick - The Periphus Of Spur Tank Road

Hotel Ganesh, India, evening, sultry outside, bordering on stifling.
Character Rick relaxes on the terrace, trying to enjoy, appreciate, think.
When a monkey, a Bonnet Macaque to be precise, hisses, “Hey Mac.”
Rick, being a creative sort, doesn’t find a talking monkey so unusual, and the two begin a conversation.
From here, gentle reader, drop any preconceptions. Just switch off the damn TV and hang on.
Exchanges range from lurid history, to volleys against the preening indecency of humanity.
Yes, yes, I know, we mean well. Yet, when we do what we do – oops, sorry.
Vasco da Gama may get singled out, but he is merely a stand-in for the horde.
Our monkey, soon calling itself Pagan, speaks a fractured English.
For the best, as our author has not included dialogue markers (he said, Pagan replied)
We navigate a jungle of words, often confused or meandering.
Very enjoyable, if you have a taste for this, although I often suspected the author was on a bender, free-styling impressions while his hallucinations were fresh.

*Grand Prix - 1966 - 7/10

Overlong, overwrought, soap opera claptrap.
Until the Formula One engines roar to life!
Racing sequences are dazzling, thrilling even, as you are in the seat.
Groundbreaking back in the day, and still completely shames CGI fakery.
Nevertheless, the love triangles suck big time.
Yves Montand memorable as the aging driver who cannot retire. HIS is the story.
Other relationships go nowhere. Fast forward, you won’t miss much.

A Night With Janis Joplin - 2025 - 7/10

Not quite a revue, nor a straight biography.
Exhilarating musical numbers mixed with Joplin talking of childhood and her early years in San Francisco.
Also her influences: her mother’s taste in Broadway, along with Bessie Smith, Nina Simone, Odetta, Aretha, Etta James.
Mary Bridget Davies, as Joplin, is a powerhouse. Not just belting the blues, but the drawl, the cackle, the humor.
Nor is she alone. Four others slip into The Chantels, Etta, Bessie, etc …
Everyone has the chops. Save for an elderly audience who seem listless. A younger audience might have been livelier, except they might not have know the singer, let alone her songs.
The estate is still highly protective, so nor mention of her troubles.
Again, akin to a musical, and a rowdy, exhilarating one at that.
English subtitles = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3361066

The Brides Of Fu Manchu - 1966 - 5/10

Well, if you want to be accurate, they are actually caged prisoners.
Whose fathers are eminent specialists.
Obey his instructions or the daughters will perish horribly.
The goal? World domination!
Rather silly film benefits from Lee, as always, and energetic players.
Jarring at first seeing Chinese villains amidst a backdrop of Egyptian statues and frescos.
There’s also an underground installation of electronics that Ernst Blofield would envy.

Mrs. ‘Arris Goes To Paris - 1992 - 6/10

While getting mail for Mrs. Dent, charwoman Mrs. Harris sees her Dior gown.
By and large, the loveliest, most beautiful thing she has even seen.
Determined to have one, she scrimps and saves for three years to buy one at the Dior shop.
Except, when she reaches Paris three years later, she finds there isn’t exactly a shop.
She is allowed to attend one of the showings (???), and sits next to a well dressed diplomat.
Lansbury is delightful in fashion fantasy, along with costars Diana Rigg and Omar Sharif.
Solid work all around. Gowns, models, period cars, street scenes, everyday attire.

Few questions.
How long is your edit?
How large the filesize?
Is this 720p or 1080p or larger?
Thank you.

Lost Hearts - 1973 - 6/10

“None of us are given much time. Lifespan, a mere flicker.”
Declares Mr Abney to Stephen, his much, much younger cousin.
Young Stephen is still trying to settle in, asking questions about children who preceded him.
Abney, a most sinister man, yet admired by servants, masks his guile with smiles.
Gothic suspense based on M. R. James, holds up well and is an effective thriller.
Informative commentary by Kim Newman seems a bit too jolly for the subject.