Vultural

The Plastic Age - 1925 - 6/10

Hugh, college freshman, meets party girl, Cynthia.
She likes alcohol, dancing, juke joints and car backseats.
In due course, Hugh’s athletic prowess weakens, and his grades tumble off the cliff.
His wild girlfriend is a hot flapper, putting his college time in peril.
Clara Bow’s first smash hit, rollicks along, although tame by later standards.
Hectic energy, nevertheless, and Clara just takes your breath away.
Look for a young Clark Gable as one of the jocks.

Alice In Borderland is a superb series, particularly the second season.
Beware the King Of Spades.

Fast Film - 2003 - 6/10

Faneditors, take note!

Wild cut of over hundred films, starting with Bogart opening the door.
From there, long chase sequence on a dividing train (yes), then underworld entry.
Train escapades feature versions of Cary Grant. The subterranean realm, Bond. 007.
Classic film fans will have a field day tagging clips
One could rewatch this 13” experimental short over and over.

Mysterious Disappearance - 2014 - 6/10
AKA - Monsieur Max et la Rumeur (Mr. Max and the Rumor)

Village butcher Max is, what, 20 years older than live-in girlfriend, Caroline?
Tongues wag. She is a dish, and she flaunts it, strutting and sashaying.
Consequently, when there is a raucous argument, and she vanishes, and there is blood.
Rumors swirl. People love to talk. Gossip. Embellish. Vent.
Max is isolated, save for the busybody neighbor, a Jane Marple type, with motives.
About midway, I said out loud, “This is pretty hammy.”
Ah, not so fast youngling, as the final third shuffles the plot deck, changing everything.
Christie fans, you’ll probably enjoy this one.

Gardner, Erle Stanley - The Count Of 9

Private eyes Cool & Lam are involved in another mystery.
Bertha, less so much in this outing.
While she provides security for a shindig, guarding the penthouse elevator, a second jade statue is still stolen, along with a six foot blowpipe.
Donald Lam is a charmer, though, and soon sweet talks a bevy of lovelies.
Extremely fast moving read filled with arrogant boasters and brawny cops.
Did I mention the females? Ripe curves who find testosterone the greatest aphrodisiac.
Overall mystery is pretty fair, and Gardner keeps one guessing throughout.
The writer also plays fair and never cheats or adds revelations.
Typical of 50’s innuendo, don’t expect corks to pop in your presence.

Devil And The Deep - 1932 - 6/10

Commander Sturm is insanely jealous of any junior officers near his wife.
He watches, eavesdrops, lays snares, then acts, whether his suspicions are grounded or not.
Oddly structured film has several initial acts romantic triangles and jealously.
Followed by submarine dramatics in the depths.
Of course, one watches this for the cast: Cary Grant, Gary Cooper, Tallulah Bankhead.
Charles Laughton dominates proceedings as the mad commander.

Nevada Smith - 1966 - 6/10

Following the murder of his parents, Max Sand grows up thirsting for revenge.
As a young adult, he changes his name and tracks down the villains one by one.
Violent Western freighted with soap business (script).
Excellent scenery, yet the lingering shots and pacing stall the film.
McQueen OK, although villains and shady ladies appear to possess more charisma.
Dated now, especially since few recall Harold Robbins, once a wildly popular novelist.
He wrote steamy potboilers; “Nevada Smith” was a prequel to “The Carpetbaggers”.

Show-Business At Home - 1943 - 6/10

Morale booster and propaganda reminder of show business during WWII.
USO clubs, Hollywood Canteen, Command Performance, stars touring the front.
Studios (image = Disney) given over to creating training films, along with Allied version of news.
Less than half the talent shown is referenced. Likely viewers then knew every star.
March Of Time newsreel from 20th Century Fox.

A Taste Of Honey - 2014 - 7/10

Jo tags after Helen to the latest dismal digs.
No heat, dirty rooms, an undesirable neighborhood.
They probably owe money to the previous landlord, and Helen is not one for steady work.
As far as mothers go, she’d rather have a drink. Or the whole bottle.
She does have a fancy man, however, who has followed her to the hovel.
Speaking of fancy men, young Jo has caught herself a sailor – who says he loves her.
Groundbreaking play (alcoholism, unwed mother, inter-racial, homosexuality) less risqué today.
One watches today for the caliber of acting which is high in this, and fierce.
Compare this with the 1961 film adaptation and this version bristles.

Hall, Leland - Sinister House

Pierre and Annette flee the grime and soot perils of Gotham for upstate New York. Small, rural Forsby. Fresh air and a wholesome setting to raise their children.
Neighbors and friends Eric and Julia live near enough in a run down dwelling that has seen better days. Julia had fallen in love with it at first sight, despite the flaws.
So much for domestic bliss.
The decaying house shelters a malignant spirit, bent on inflicting harm, then escalating.
Published in 1914, following the Great War, the narrative dawdles along. No flappers, no Roaring Twenties tempo here. The look and outlook of characters seem to presage a Norman Rockwell painting.
While the supernatural elements are dangerous, there are simply not enough of those forces. Instead, Hall fills the book with the kitchen sink dramas of Annette & Pierre & Eric & Julia.

Faceless - 1988 - 6/10
AKA - Les Prédateurs de la Nuit

After his sister is horribly disfigured in an acid throwing attack, Doctor Flamand turns to heinous methods to restore her beauty. Partner Nathalie in lockstep, perhaps even more brutal.
Beautiful women are kidnapped, butchered, discarded after one failed procedure after another.
Then he seizes the daughter of a tycoon / gang boss who dispatches a fixer.
Sleazy, exploitation fare dives into Slasher territory with giddy delight.
Late Jess Franco film has a cohesive plot, hefty budget, quality performers.
Oscar bait, hardly, yet should interest fans of the genre, who appreciate Euro attitudes.
English Subtitles (Commentary with Jess and Lina) = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3360251

The Spider Woman Strikes Back - 1946 - 5/10

Arachnids? Barely. Think poisonous, carnivorous plants. Being watered with blood.
Jean answers a “companion wanted” advert for blind Miss Dollard.
The only other servant is the mute, deformed Mario.
Even at not quite an hour, filmmakers struggle to lay down narrative.
10-15 minutes are used to pad with stealthy shuffling about
Holmes fans, you know this is not canon. Background program, at best.

Russell, R B - The Woman Who Fell To Earth

The woman would be Catherine, who fell to her death on Tanya’s roof. Once friends, they had cooled after Catherine wed Tanya’s favorite uncle, and began appropriating.
Is there a police investigation of just how Catherine fell, apparently, from open sky? Alas.
Catherine was the champion of an esoteric horror writer cum hack. After his death, she had jealously guarded his papers, as well as the sixtystone *.
Tensions notwithstanding, Catherine’s will made Tanya the executrix of everything. Almost immediately, interlopers appear: rivals, cheats, liars, poseurs, thieves.
All simmering the narrative. Until – midway – an unexpected individual arrives.
The plot becomes haphazard, loose, improvised, bordering on what I call fantasy island.
I will guess the author was being playful, lightening the tone, although I found it awkward.
I read to the conclusion, hoping, hoping, yet the energy had drained and the tale sputtered out.

• Sixtystone: an in-joke or knowing reference. To familiarize yourself, read Machen’s Three Imposters first; it’s a brief novel. If time pressed, read the story “The Novel Of The Black Seal.”

It Feels So Good - 2019 - 6/10
AKA - Kakô no Futari // 火口のふたり

Naoko is getting married to a 40-year-old officer.
First, however, while he is away, she calls old flame Kenji.
She wants sex. A lot of sex. All through the night, every night.
In between, there is a lot of talking. About parents, aunts, ex-partners. Their youth.
Two souls who could not commit when young; now in their thirties, and now too late.
Coitus may put prudes off, lengthy conversations may irk the impatient.
Undercurrent of catastrophes overshadowed by taboos.
English subtitles = https://sub-scene.com/subscene/159560

Night Monster - 1942 - 6/10

Servant Milly has had enough of Ingstron house, too many weird goings-on.
The sheriff pays no attention to her warnings, until she is found dead in the road.
About the same time as three doctors arrive at the house.
No, make that four, except the fourth is female psychiatrist.
Along with an Indian mystic. A swami!
Headliner Lugosi wasted as butler. Lionel Atwill fans, don’t blink.
This is a “old dark house” mystery, and a pretty good one.
Moody photography, rising body count, no end of suspects.

World At War - 1973 - 8/10

Good companion to The Great War which covered WWI.
Massive amounts of newsreel and combat footage. Talking heads include veterans and historians.
Chronological, with numerous detours into specific campaigns or nations.
Burma, for example, is not always included in docs. Nor is Holland. Both are here.
Focus more on common soldiers or airmen or seamen, rather than brass, save for generals who were actually field generals, out there.
Deaths from the war = 55,000,000.
One quote stayed with me, “There are a great many soldiers who take great pleasure in destroying people, wasting things. This aspect of human nature is not discussed enough, but it is surely one of the causes of warfare.”
I don’t see us evolving much.

Night Shift - 2017 - 6/10

Security guard patrols the sprawling building. Offices, corridors, conference rooms, parking lots.
Same ole routine, until one locked door will not open. Pained noises within.
Complex is vast, vigilance is tiring, and, being alone, the guard has no backup.
Tightly wound thriller, quite well done with bare bones crew.
Excellent quasi-Rachmaninoff music heightens mood.

The Concert For Bangla Desh - 1972 - 7/10

Monumental benefit concert with an impressive array of talent.
George, Ringo, Ravi Shankar, Eric Clapton, Leon Russell, Bobby Dylan, Billy Preston, Badfinger …
The sound mix and camera work are excellent for a live concert.
Mind you, the TV series In Concert had been airing for a year.
Who was missing? Stephen Stills, who was royally irritated, as well as Lennon.
The DVD has both afternoon and evening shows, and there are differences.
High watermark for many involved.

All This I Will Give To You - 2024 - 7/10
AKA - Tout cela je te le donnerai

Aymeric is brother number two to die under mysterious circumstances.
Which means the final survivor, Joffrey, inherits the estate and vineyard.
Not so fast! Aymeric’s will leaves everything to his husband, Manuel.
Manuel doesn’t necessarily want the estate, let alone deal with the nest of vipers that inhabit the manor.
Nonetheless, he does suspect the death was suspicious.
A retired gendarme, who hates the entitled family, launches a stealth investigation.
From here, the mystery twists and coils, with seedy revelations.

Moguls And Movie Stars - 2010 - 7/10

Hardly Hollywood: A Celebration Of Silent Film, yet this is a fine overview of the pioneering years.
Detailing the slow invention of film from kinetiscope to nickelodeons to theaters to studios.
Stars and name directors are highlit, but the focus is on the bosses: Goldwyn, Warner, Mayer, Laemmle, etc …
Seven episodes = seven hours. Concludes with a crash in the 1970’s.
By that time the “star system” was shattered, theater chain control long over, and maverick directors were loose.
Excellent for buffs and historians, but this only goes to the 70’s, so know your appetite for older fare.

Son Of Kong - 1932 - 5/10

Denham returns to Skull Island and finds Kong’s young offspring.
The youngster is smaller and far, far friendlier.
The set design is still there, yet seems diminished.
I kept thinking of Tarzan films.
This is safe for children, whereas the original was one scary film.
Storywise, this is poorly written, perhaps rushed by the studio.
The finale is memorably infuriating. Watch if you must.

Marvick, Louis - Maculate Vision And Other Stories

Vision stained, vision polluted. A thick half dozen stories, many that earlier appeared in an Side Real Press collection, now OP.

The title piece is a dark amusement. An inheritance with a blasted provision. Yet, Eddie so needed the money, he accepted the uncanny painting. He knew his uncle was up to something.

“Is For Ilinx” wears better a second read around. The Texas caricature still rings off-key, but heightens the disparity between boorish wealth and jaded experience. Conte cruel, this one.

“Of Interactive Surveillance And The Circular Firing Squad” draws us into the rarefied world of Classical music prodigies, tasked with tutoring untrained children, damaged in various ways. The tone is one of anxiety and confusion, building to a grotesque finale.

Zagava has published several Louis Marvick books, and appears to be championing his works. He is well worth investigation by fans of Weird Lit with a taste for extended style over gore and fluids.

Se7en - 1995 - 7/10

Exceptional Neo-Noir sticks with two detectives tracking a serial killer.
A methodical, painstaking murderer who has planned, apparently, for years.
Seven refers to the seven deadly sins, and each killing is a stylized tableau.
The experienced Somerset has seen too much depravity in the city and is ready to retire.
The impetuous Mills is a small town transfer, cocksure and aggressive.
Drenched city landscape contrasts with the serenity of the library, comfort of Mills’s apartment,
Grim exploration, nonetheless, of the darker jungle abiding amidst our ordered world.

The Preview Murder Mystery - 1936 - 6/10

Leading man Neil receives numerous warnings that he will not live to see his latest film.
Police suspect publicity stunt, until – yes – adios Neil. RIP.
Followed by more warnings, more deaths. All on the studio lot.
What to do? Seal off the entire studio and hope the murderer makes a mistake.
B-film mystery packs plenty into its sixty minutes.
No motive for the police (not dimwits) to draw in on.
Buffs will enjoy guessing which Paramount sets were used for scenes.
Impressive camera work from the inventive Struss.
Movie within the movie “Song Of The Toreador” looks dreadful, although operetta musicals were popular.

Westworld - 1973 - 710

Saddle up, pardner. Or more likely … draw.
High tech amusement park, Delos, with realistic androids.
Depending on which section one chooses, diversions include centurions, knights, gunslingers.
Along with comely wenches, gargantuan amounts of food, and beverages.
Visitors indulge all manner of appetites, including bloodlust.
Wouldn’t you know it? Technical malfunctions, followed by real bloodlust.
A rare SciFi / Western, reverent, funny, exciting, thoughtful.
There would be a sequel, which tried, but this was magic in a bottle – or brothel.