Vultural

Matinee - 1993 - 6/10

Flock, you fans of Horror schlock!
Film impresario Lawrence Woolsey (please, William Castle) arrives in Key West during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
What for? He’s promoting a new film, “Mant”, half man, half … you got it.
Castle was the master of gimmicks, and this one includes Rumble-Rama
John Goodman is colossally funny, and he is the star showcased on promotional material.
Nevertheless, the story follows bored teens and puppy love amidst potential nuclear annihilation.
Surely, the producers could have seen the error of the script and made the film about Woolsey.
What remains is alright. What could’ve been … well … bummer.

• Update -
  For those who would like to see Mant! A short.
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVEjdGQSzc8

Housekeeping - 2018 - 6/10

Sophia works in the Corporate Suites, posh rooms for high tier businessmen.
On the surface, clients seem respectable, although the trashed rooms reveal otherwise.
Hard to tell whether she is repelled by, or attracted to, evident debauchery.
Short thriller of envy, attraction, disillusion.

Maids were frequent customer at an previous workplace of mine.
They bought small UV lights to find stains of dried bodily fluids, anywhere and everywhere.
Stories shared illuminated our revolting species.

Darby’s Rangers - 1958 - 6/10

Hollywood tale of the formation of the 1st Army Ranger Battalion.
Major Darby is assigned to form and train recruits based on the British Commandos.
Harsh and grueling training is offset by wartime romances.
Later combat appears filmed on indoor sets.
At times schmaltzy, at times flag-waving, this was once a staple of late night television.
Years later, I thought about the relationship between the prissy lieutenant and the feisty Italian girl.
Those sorts of impulse war nuptials resurfaced in countless Noir films and OTR mysteries.
Yarns where husbands and wives barely knew the other, and schemed murder.

The Waves Of Memory - 2020 - 6/10
AKA - Les Ondes du Souvenir

A corpse is found in a steel mill, shuttered 40 years already.
Who gets the call? Yes, Detective Clara and her forensic anthropologist boyfriend.
This duo is stale, their relationship spinning in the mud.
The mystery? The body is soon identified, so this becomes a case of who did it and why.
Back history might resonate with viewers who remember strikes and police conflicts.
The focus, however, remains on Clara and her soppy boyfriend.
There was never much chemistry between the two. Hopefully, this is their last pairing.

Scenes From A Mall - 1991 - 5/10

Fans knew this wasn’t a “Woody” film. Knew it suffered scathing reviews.
Nevertheless, we viewed.
Woody Allen and Bette Midler play a happily married couple whose marriage has hit a crisis.
Allen and Midler show great chemistry, yet their characters are extremely dislikeable.
They bicker, squabble and lash out. Inside the mall, at a time when malls had become less popular.
The movie feels improvised, or poorly edited.
Mazursky attempting Altman, without the latter’s touch.

Wonderland - 2003 - 6/10

Ugly, flip side to Boogie Nights, this one based on real events.
Porn stud John Holmes, career in the trash can, is suspect #1 in the death of four.
Low on cash, fried out brain cells, Holmes and drug buddies decide to rob a mobster.
Afterward, police try to untangle conflicting versions of events.
Repellent tale is grisly and frustrating, not leastways because of so many loathsome players.
The tone, the vibe, however, seems spot on, spitting the filthy payment due that came at the end of the 70’s.
Val Kilmer nails John Holmes, yet the whole cast is solid.
Gloriously slimy escapade, not a prissy docudrama.

Fascination - 1979 - 6/10

After a gold heist, Marc hides in an “empty” chateau.
Well, there are two maidservants who seem to be involved with each other, and interested in him.
He dallies, unaware that the chateau belongs to a countess, a vampire, who will soon arrive.
Stylized Jean Rollin film has a meandering plot drifting though a dreamlike setting.
While slow, especially by today’s standards, almost every scene is visually arresting.
Gothic, lesbian vampires, beautiful fashions, nudity, moody score, creeping dread.
Good intro to Rollin for the curious.

Woman In The Moon - 1929 - 7/10
AKA - Frau im Mond

Pioneering SciFi about travel to the Moon for, what else, riches!
Professor Manfeldt proposes there is gold on the dark side.
Venture capitalists sign on, and the spaceship is created.
Although about “space travel”, greed predominates. And some romance.
I have seen this twice live with a pianist. A new Kino release has an excellent score.
At 3+ hours in length, you should settle in for a long experience.
Very spotty “science” in this, yet much of the “rocket” depictions would echo in the later V2.

Henry V - 1944 - 7/10

Rousing, old-fashioned spectacle serves as epic achievement and morale booster (during WWII).
The young king, still regarded as a wastrel, finds tensions with France near breaking point.
Solution? Invade and conquer, despite having smaller forces.
The Technicolor is, at once, dazzling and distracting. The colors are beyond belief.
The battle sequences are outstanding. Transitions between the Globe and locations are inspired.
For all that, the film is – not stilted – pretty. Shiny.
Olivier is masterful, although you always know this is Sir Laurence.

Swimming To Cambodia - 1987 - 7/10

Spalding Gray, raconteur, delivers a monologue on Southeast Asia.
Particularly, Cambodia and the rise of the Khmer Rouge and subsequent genocide.
Weaving in and out are comments of The Killing Fields in which he had a small part.
The performance runs funny to terrifying, remaining desperately human.
Riveting theatre, beware of cut versions.

Infernal Affairs - 2002 - 7/10
AKA - Mou gaan dou // 無間道

Triad member Lau enrolls in the police academy, rises through the ranks, yet is criminal to the core.
Chan is expelled from the police academy, then joins the Triads (though he is actually undercover).
Sound somewhat familiar? Yes, Scorsese remade this in 2006 as The Departed.
(The remake is exceptional, and Scorsese, unlike most copycats, graciously credited the HK version.)
While similar to the remake, Infernal Affairs is a considerably darker experience.
For one thing, this is steeped in the ramifications of the 1997 handover to China.
The promise of “One country, two systems” swirls through the film.
Spawned a terrific prequel, then a so-so sequel. View the first two.

Julie - 2018 - 6/10

Julie’s big birthday bash and everyone is there!
Well, not Daddy. Plus, the majority of the revelers are moochers who mock her.
Julie is insecure, graceless, a sponger herself and ugly to her two friends.
In a nutshell, she is a resentful, privileged 7 year old in a 33 year old body.
Left-handed adaptation of Strindberg’s “Miss Julie” is well cast and has its moments.
Julie is a toxic soul, however, and her complaints and comments come across as whiny bleating.
She is inappropriate throughout, wallowing in her pity party.

The House With Laughing Windows - 1976 - 7/10
AKA - La Casa Dalle Finestre che Ridono

Stefano arrives at the tiny village by boat.
Hired to restore a fresco of the assassination of Saint Sebastian. A gruesome depiction.
He settles in quickly, manages to sleep with a few ladies, and the restoration proceeds.
Nevertheless, he receives warnings about the fresco, the village. That he should depart.
The isolation builds throughout, as Stefano is shunned, and village, forest, even his own rooms seem empty.
While this lacks the stylistic flourishes of Giallo, the atmosphere and tone is overwhelming.
Not really Horror, but a thriller that delivers and a mystery that exemplifies “be careful what you ask for”.

Tschugger: S01-02 - 2021 - 7/10

Detective Bax is having a bad run.
Wife Gerda has dumped him, he is currently trailing two low-level stoners.
Worse, he has made a poor impression on a visiting HQ investigator.
Let’s not go into his unprofessional attire, which matches his boorish social skills.
You may assume things can’t get worse.
Oh, yes, they can!
Extremely funny satire on cop shows and buddy flicks.
Two five-part seasons, half hour each, with a hair raising finale.

Files, Gemma - In Our Endlessness, Our End

Award winning, and generous collection of restless stories.

“Bulbs” is the first of interviews. Bronwyn has gone off-grid. Completely. Possibly because of her apartment, something about the electro-magnetic field, something slightly beyond.

On glance, “The Puppet Motel” frays the already knotty relationship. The one grown stale, soured. Loren, at least, has an option. The short term rental property belonging to a friend. Between occupants, she cleans it and is allowed sleeping privileges – although sleep seems impossible.

In “Come Closer” the scourge draws ever nearer. Devouring homes, then squatting them back out afterward. Akin to a toxic workplace, cancerous love affair, or simply the ravages of time. Escape is a narrow opening.

“Cut Frame” is another set of interviews. The gem is for film buffs, fans of any troubled Horror production. For followers of fated stars who trail a curse in their wake. Exploitation fans, dial in.

Writers and their crutches. Superstitions. Oh, the exercises, the clichéd workshop exercises. In “Venio” matters proceed one step too many, until participants realize – well, too bad for them.

“Look Up” is rural horror, folk horror. The family curse that lingers across generations. And how about those family reunions? Especially with relatives you have never met? You know, second cousin three times removed. Fortunately there are always souls desperate for family.

Again, this is a thick, hearty collection. Best read carefully, too. The paper is thin, and creases and tears easily.
An oversight, there is no listing of where these tales first appeared. If they are all original to this volume, there is no listing of that either.

What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice? - 1969 - 6/10

Aunt Alice? Oh, she called herself Mrs. Dimmock and hired on as companion to Mrs. Marrable.
How many companions has Mrs. Marrable gone through already? Four? Five?
Good help is so hard to find. Funny how they all left in the middle of the night.
Of course they had no relatives, poor dears. No friends. Nobody missed them.
And Mrs. Marrable (above)? Despite her airs, she is poor. And rather mad.
Desert mystery shines a mean edge and cruel tone.
Odd how the general populace is so easily deceived by surface charm and platitudes.

The Protégé - 2021 - 6/10

Moody and Anna are a hit team. Assassins. Except they only murder bad people.
Please. Really?
After a death – payback – Anna targets the top man responsible, and his cartel of henchmen.
Samuel Jackson as Moody is fine, the action sequences are crisp and well done.
Dialogue is a treat, especially between Maggie Q and Michael Keaton.
Keaton, by the way, has a marvelous role as the sardonic right hand.
The narrative, the script itself, is an empty-headed muddle.
There is no “there” to the last two acts. No reasons, no denouement.

The Prey Of The Wind - 1927 - 6/10
AKA - La Proie du Vent

Owing to turbulent weather, Pierre is forced to land east of France, on castle grounds.
There, he recuperates from injuries and falls under the spell of Countess Elizabeth.
Then he discovers the rightful countess, Helene, imprisoned, who begs him to help her escape.
Story becomes a watch and wait slow boil.
Which sister is truthful? Is either? Does Pierre still need to remain, or is he a captive?
Fairly creaky French thriller borders on melodrama. Fine restoration.

Robinson Crusoe On Mars - 1964 - 6/10

After crash landing on Mars, the lone surviving astronaut must find water, oxygen and food.
The isolation, the loneliness, proves to be the most challenging.
First half is a thoughtful SciFi, close to hard science, at least for the 1960’s.
Afterward, it goes into action adventure territory.
Flashy special effects, excellent models and miniatures.
The cinematography is quite widescreen, and beautiful (I think Death Valley locations).

The Prisoner Of Zenda - 1937 - 7/10

The King Of Ruritaria is kidnapped before his coronation.
By chance, a distant English cousin resembles him and is asked to impersonate before villains seize the crown.
Brisk moving adventure holds up strongly.
Mystery, some romance, the duplicity of relatives, dangers of drink.
The paraphrase the page turners, this is a thumping good romp.
A large chunk of the “British Colony” seems to be here.
Ronald Colman excellent in dual roles. Douglas Fairbanks Jr., however, is absolutely unforgettable as the charming rogue, Rupert Of Hentzau.

Enemy Gold - 1993 - 4/10

During the Civil War, or War Between The States for you lost cause diehards, a pair of Johnny Rebs hide a mess of gold in the roots of a tree.
Their plan to retrieve the loot later on dies when both are killed. D-E-D = dead.
Jump ahead 130 years later, when Federal agents, tracking swamp drug dealers, find the stash!
Who’d’ve thunk it?
In no time flat, crooked Feds are after the trio, along with the drug gang, and a female assassin in a bikini.
(How she ain’t getting all bit up by mosquitoes, ticks and chiggers is beyond comprehension.)
Oh, wait a minute! The good agents, they find time to get naked and get frisky whenever the mood strikes.
Nonsense from Drew Sidaris (Andy’s kid).
Fans of Julie Strain will relish watching her try to out-act a tree stump.

Dead Or Alive - 1999 - 7/10
AKA - Deddo oa Araibu: Hanzaisha // 犯罪者

The opening ten minutes is demonstration time!
Unbelievable sequence of quick cutting introduces characters, a decadent yakuza, a high voltage heist.
The editing is a jaw dropping example of concision, along with the show, don’t say ethos.
A low level street gang robs a powerful yakuza boss.
The boss, in turn, coerces an indebted cop to track the gang and bring them to him.
What follows is a weird, ugly crime film of betrayals and vengeance.
A film that grows progressively stranger, with an off-the-rails finale.

The.Walls Of Memory - 2019 - 5/10
AKA - Les Murs du Souvenir

Followup to The Mists Of Memory, which was adequate at best.
This is more of the same, as the detective wrestles with personal problems, while that forensic anthropologist is something between needy teenage, puppy love and outright stalking.
Their personal stories blow, man. The duo exhibit negative chemistry.

Meanwhile, a dead Totenkopf SS officer is found inside a wall during demolition.
The plot is immediately suspect. 99.9% of French would say, “Oh, dead Nazi from 70 years ago? Who cares. Common grave. Case closed.”
Nope, not here. There are complications.
Far-fetched story, ludicrous finale, two leads with appeal of wilted zucchini.

The Vampire Family - 1990 - 6/10
AKA - Semya Vurdalakov

The newspaper photographer is renowned for capturing gruesome scenes.
Next assignment, the small village where most of the residents have died or fled.
It is remote, primitive, and the last household is superstitious.
The dead don’t stay dead. They return within nine days. Hungry, no, make that thirsty.

Visibly dark film manages to be claustrophobic and eerie.
The city guest is out of his depth, but he makes an ideal observer.
Looking without grasping.
The film is not remotely slick, in fact it is incoherent at times.
Nevertheless, the otherness of the place, along with the forbidding suspense. is chilling.

Rye Lane - 2023 - 7/10

Dom is in rough territory. His girlfriend has left him for – who else – his best friend.
While crying in a bathroom stall, a female overhears and comments.
“This is the men’s room.” He says. “No, unisex,” she answers.
Aha, the “meet-cute” moment in his RomCom set in South London.
The pair skip the train, skip the bus, and start a walk home.
Talking the whole time. Eventually turning into the Quest.
Both characters are intelligent, the visuals highly entertaining.
Yes, there is a cameo. Yes, that’s him!