Vultural

A Very British Scandal - 2021 - 7/10

How very unpleasant.
Sordid breakup of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll in 1963.
She comes across as an insatiable narcissist, he an alcoholic financial sponge.
Both are extraordinarily repellent and crass. Aristocratic white trash.
Acting is fierce and unsettling; one gathers the narrative is quasi-faithful.
Champions of women’s empowerment will be sorely vexed.
Margaret is hardly a role model, while the world she inhabits – it’s a man’s world.

And Justice For All - 1979 - 6/10

Defense attorney has issues with one of the court’s sterner judges.
In between trying to defend clients, and being thwarted, he looks in on his grandfather, dabbles in romance.
This is a cynical take on idealistic TV courtroom dramas of the ‘60’s and 70’s.
(Mind you, nothing beats the smiling cynicism of the black and white Perry Mason.)
The judge in question gets in trouble, and hires, you got it, his long time nemesis.
For me, this is one of his films where Al Pacino dropped his cool reserve, and began louder acting.
Served him well, although Michael Corleone’s intensity remains preferable to yelling marathons.
Jack Warden as half-cocked judge, unforgettable.

Things To Come - 1936 - 6/10

Script by H. G. Wells, futuristic film of a seemingly endless war.
The desolation, the exhaustion, the rising of tribes.
The war itself seems a continuation of the Great War (1914-1918), and not at all what WWII would be.
Fascism and totalitarianism was rising during this time, so the themes were in the air, so to speak.
I always rewatch this whenever the library or revival house offers.
Some of the acting is hammy (Ralph Richardson is over-the-top).
The tone can be preachy, and strikes me as too hopeful regarding man’s eventual mastery of his impulses.
Sets and photography by Menzies – THAT is why one watches!

Dangerous Corner - 1983 - 6/10

One gathers the evening began as a cocktail party until a surprise confession led to interrogations and recriminations.
Not attending is Maurice, who apparently committed suicide following a money theft.
Not everyone believes he stole the money. Fewer believe he would have committed suicide.
Balance of whodunit and inquisition, all set in one room.
Stagey, talky, and I did get confused early on sorting the relations between six characters.
Subdued, well acted (early Daniel Day Lewis), with a gallery of faces who dominated 80’s - 90’s Brit shows.

Every House Is Haunted - 2023 - 6/10

The realtor told them, “The house was haunted.”
For the young couple, the price is affordable, the location away from the city.
It will be a chance for them to heal.
Home, alone, Maya begins to see the ghosts, because she is “special”.
Then more ghosts appear, those who stayed, for a reason.

The Secret Of Roan Inish - 1994 - 7/10

Magical film for adults, for families.
Fiona and young brother go to live with grandparents.
Their mother has died, and Pa is increasingly incapable.
Grandma has a long memory, and shares lore and secrets.
One being, a distant ancestor had been a selkie, and that bloodline continued.
And when young Jamie is swept away, it the seals claiming one of their own.
Sweeping coastlines, along with myths and the value of family.
I viewed originally during the initial run in a theater packed with families. Children were spellbound.

Burden Of Dreams - 1982 - 8/10

The madman and his monomania. In this case, director Werner Herzog.
Attempting to physically move a 320 ton vessel, letting cast and crew get injured during filming.
The mutual respect / hatred between Herzog and Kinski. Murders attempted.
An early, outside look at Herzog who has always been maddeningly opaque as a documentarian, as well as an individual.
An essential accompaniment to Fitzcarraldo.
Mere stories, memoirs, recollections are insufficient.
This films the madness, the recklessness, the obsession.
Another documentary of crazy filmmaking – Hearts Of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse.

Fitzcarraldo - 1982 - 8/10

The madman and his dreams.
Irishman Fitzcarraldo, late to the Peruvian rubber rush, leases a patch of land on the other side of the Andes.
The distance between upper river Ucayali and lower Pachitea is a few hundred feet.
If he could haul a boat to the higher water, then the area could be exploited.
Fitzcarraldo is driven, and lashes his workers (who abandon him) and then another tribe.
Deeply problematic production remains a must-see for arthouse types.
Klaus Kinski is the definition of intense here, while the photography is masterful.

Various (Editor: Richard, Sam) - Beautiful / Grotesque

Mixed assemblage of the body poetic.
Roland Blackburn’s “God Of The Silvered Hall” occurs in the loveliest of settings, the coroner’s morgue. The torso was a shredded ruination, yet Patience spied the small tattoo that appeared to be - really - a recipe.
“Threnody” by Jo Quenell is a song of guilt by Lydia, who understands she is not responsible – this time.
“The Queen Of The Select” showcases the tourists, timid degenerates, venturing into the deep end of depravity, ignorant of the restless pit dwellers.
“Swanmord” gave me a headache. Enough.
Editor Richard’s own tale, “The Fruit Of A Barren Tree”, is an excursion into the grief that never fades, does not ebb, yet when watered, flourishes.

Head - 1968 - 7/10

Man, when this TV series concluded, it went out with a bang.
This insane, almost incoherent, spoof of television, film, music, celebrity.
For all its crazy humor, parade of cameos, mile-a-minute comments, there is more apparent depth.
Throughout is the fabrication, the plastic ness of artistic freedom or license.
The implication, by extension, is that everyone is manipulated.
Not just the four Monkees, but the creators and moneymen, as well as the viewers.
All empty puppets.

Pixote -1980 - 7/10
AKA - Pixote: a Lei do Mais Fraco

Uneducated, unwashed, uneducated. The abandoned, disposed children of Rio de Janeiro.
Ten year old Pixote is already a petty criminal, message runner for gangs, glue sniffer.
A hellish stint in prison reinforces violent tendencies, erodes humanity.
An unflinching look at the underbelly, the disease that is incarceration, and corrupt law.
Pixote is sympathetic, in many ways funny, even here and there, an innocent.
Until he’s not.
Beautifully ugly film, wrenching at times, otherwise prescient of what is coming.

Black Cat - 1991 - 6/10
AKA - Hak Mau // 黑猫

Hong Kong remake of La Femme Nikita. Expect action overload and carnage.
Jade Leung plays the highly neurotic girl who is trained (Simon Yam) into the assassin, Black Cat.
Killer action, especially when well oiled plans go haywire.
Romantic elements merely muddy the proceedings. Leung at this point, was not skillful enough.
Those scenes range from cloying to maudlin.
Fans of classic Hong Kong films will enjoy (probably fast-forward the dull stuff).
Worth a look for its excessive violence, but this pales next to the Bresson original.

La Femme Nikita - 1990 - 7/10

Nikita is a drug addict, and, accidentally, a cop killer.
Clandestine operation offers a deal: live, but you work for us.
She is cleaned up, trained, and emerges as a very stylish assassin.
First and best of a plethora of lethal femme flicks.
This one has style to burn, as well as emotional hooks.
Anne Parillaud is outstanding. Remade as the tepid Point Of No Return.

The Wandering Earth 2 - 2023 - 6/10
AKA - Liu Lang di Qiu 2 // 流浪地球2

Messy and excessive prequel to 2019’s W E 1.
Whereas the first was juvenile and mindless, this has more reach, and more flaws.
Our sun is going supernova. Earth first, then the entire solar system.
Two solutions: move the entire planet – or transfer humanity to computer files.
Terrorism erupts when leaders decide to cancel the Digital Life Project.
Visual eye-candy is tremendous, and the action is go-go-go.
The propaganda is overt. Those from the West complain, whine, quit.
Only China perseveres, finds solutions, saves humanity.
Three hours. Important Easter egg in credits.

Abigail’s Party - 1977 - 7/10

Beverly and Lawrence new neighbors Angela and Tony for a meet ‘n’ drink get-together.
Both couples are, financially, entering middle class.
Socially, however, lower class roots are evident.
Both males are insecure, although Lawrence feigns education and artistic pretensions.
Beverly is the real force: dominant, gauche, tasteless, belittling, pushy.
Very black comedy of the doomed party from Hell.
Like all of you, I have been to these events, sat close-mouthed while “Beverly” annihilated the room ambiance.

Sitting Target - 1972 - 7/10

Following a major heist, Harry is pulling a long stretch.
His girlfriend doesn’t want to wait 15 years.
And … well … she met someone. And – she’s – sorta – pregnant.
Infuriated that another man is sleeping with his woman, Harry busts out.
Hard-nosed Brit Noir benefits from a minimal use of music, which I prefer.
Standout, imaginative photography is flashy yet not distracting.
Macho cast bolstered by a seething Oliver Reed and the ever-alert Ian McShane.

Objective, Burma! - 1945 - 6/10

Rousing WWII action finds Errol Flynn and company deep in Burma, taking on the Japanese.
Good flag waver, good morale booster, this still gave Flynn subsequent grief.
Burma was ostensibly a British sphere, not States.
Worse, Flynn was making movies instead of serving. He had tried enlisting in all branches, but was rejected owing to health (malaria, TB, VD).
Enough background. As a movie, this plays pretty well. Plenty of gritty action.
Mostly exterior photography, as well, rather than a soundstage.
Flynn good as stolid leader, foregoing his clichéd devil may care flamboyance.

Nelson, Michael - Queen Victoria And The Discovery Of The Riviera

Enjoyment might depend on how much one knows about Queen Victoria or how much one is into that period. Especially for those who know more from films.

Highland companion John Brown only accompanied her on a few French trips before his death. More controversial was her munshi attendant, Abdul Karim. In the film, he was resented owing to his skin. The book shines light on many more improprieties which antagonized the staff.

Victoria’s children, nieces, relations, kings, queens, tsars, whatnot make up the sweeping parade, along with global events.

I was familiar with the Dreyfuss Affair, and later when President Faure appears, I knew he would die soon enough owing to … bedroom activities.

Victoria stayed at numerous towns along the Riviera. Those and the citizens are well described. Also, her dining habits, how she traveled, and the costs per trip.

Masses of footnotes at the back, which I seldom dipped into. I read a chapter a day, then went back to whatever novel or short stories I was working on. Very little of the fin de siècle is evident.
As with all things pertaining to the Queen, much was redacted or burned by her daughter.

The House On Bare Mountain - 1962 - 4/10

Granny Good runs the home for good girls.
There are some morning exercises and learning, but mostly the girls traipse around naked.
An upcoming party promises to get out of hand.
Yeah, it’s all a front, since Granny runs a bootlegging business from the basement.
This is akin to Benny Hill meets Doris Wishman.
Silly, juvenile. Why Nicolas Winding Refn chose to restore this is beyond me.

English subtitles = https://subscene.com/subtitles/house-on-bare-mountain/english/3309595

Are You Awake? - 2023 - 6/10

Dale works as an “alarm clock”, going into homes, rousing sleepers.
Ensuring they are “awake”.
Gradually, the feeling of disconnection seeps. From clients, and within Dale herself.
“What do I enjoy? Is this life worth anything at all?”
An elliptical short, of alienation, depression, and quiet despair.
English subtitles = https://subscene.com/subtitles/are-you-awake/english/3309000

The Fall Of The House Of Usher - 2023 - 7/10

Diabolical spin on the opioid billionaire Sackler family steeped in Poe.
One by one, the scions are dying. Deaths ugly, brutal, horrifying. One day after another.
Can any spy a pattern? No, because they are the definition of stupid rich.
Roderick Usher invites his long time nemesis, Augustus Dupin, for a drink ‘n’ confess session.
And the history, shady deals, deviltry, trickle out over a short season.
Packed with poetry, allusions, character references, story spins, this should delight knowledgeable Poe fans.
Non-readers? Fear not, plenty of deaths and gore to satisfy bloodlust.
Most of the males are weak or stupid. Two daughters deserved more screen time (Camille especially).
I shun Hollywood TV soaps, but this one concludes. No unresolved cliffhangers.

The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle - 1980 - 6/10

Part documentary (questionable), part spoof.
Private-eye Steve Jones investigates the Sex Pistols. While Malcolm McLaren asserts claims to being the group’s mastermind.
Incoherent, mad and more than a little fraudulent.
Nevertheless, several performances are electrifying; for years this was the only way to see Sid’s “My Way”.
Vicious, one of Life’s saddest and greatest disasters is irresistible.
The slipshod ineptitude of this film is stupefying … and endearingly repellent.
Leonard Cohen said it best. “Everybody is the mad hero of his own drama.”

Invasion Of The Saucer Men - 1957 - 3/10

Not the Zanti misfits you are looking for.
Horny teenagers run over an extraterrestrial out in the backwoods.
While they go to alert the cops, a cheap chiseler arrives and opts to exploit the corpse.
Except more aliens arrive and snuff him.
SciFi / Horror / Comedy mix is barely watchable. (One of my brother’s faves, I have suffered it often.)
Cheap sets, ridiculous big-headed aliens, and can-do teenagers.
Spare yourself.

How To Blow Up A Pipeline - 2022 - 7/10

Yes, in remote areas gas and oil pipes are fairly isolated. Soft targets for the determined.
I recognized the types early: three, fully-committed hardcore souls, three earnest do-gooders, two tourists.
Each has a backstory, and a grievance against fossil fuel which many may identify with.
The chronology is meticulous, with step-by-step directions for bomb making.
In structure, the resembles a caper film. The team, the planning, the execution.
Great thriller - NOT overly preachy.

Manodrome - 2023 - 7/10

Ralphie now drives folks around in his car (Uber - Lyft - whatever it will be called in 2 years).
He has been laid off from an unnamed company for reasons unknown.
Anger, no, stymied rage, simmers just beneath his surface.
There is a pregnant girlfriend, whom he is unable to provide for or satisfy.
At the gym, he stares at other men, unsure of his identity, masculinity.
His is not toxic masculinity, but rather a stunted masculinity.
A mysterious clan of men (“Dads” and “Sons”) attempt to help him.
Jesse Eisenberg (if perhaps, a shade too old) is exceptional in this analysis of how modern society reduces males.