Vultural

Beyond The Summit - 2022 - 6/10
AKA - La Cima

Mountaineering porn.
Height of off-season, Mateo begins his ascent of Annapurna.
Barely a day in, he makes a mistake and winds up rescued.
Instead of sending him to a clinic, Ione watches him eat her food, take her dog, boast about his ambitions.
Finally, he tackles the ice face again. This time, middle of the night.
Gorgeous scenery undercut by Mateo’s complete lack of intelligence.
He is rash, foolish, obstinate, incapable of planning.
Oxygen? Who needs oxygen at 22,000 feet. God will help me.
Narrative is third rate, aimed at pre-teens (no disrespect to this age group).

Fits in perfect for the party.

Lady Whirlwind - 1972 - 6/10
AKA - Tie Zhang Xuan Feng Tui // 鐵掌旋風腿

Ling is pursued and beaten by workers at the gambling den. Why? Who knows.
He is left for dead on the beach.
Three years later, Tien appears in the casino, asking about Ling.
When threatened, she beats the hell out of everyone.
Eventually, she tracks down Ling who has taken all this time to recuperate and train.
“Don’t kill me now!” he begs. “I want revenge on those gamblers.”
Shaw Brothers flick has a LOT of overlong fight scenes.
Angela Mao as Tien Li-Chun is the best thing here, followed by a mess of sneering villains.

Destination Moon - 1950 - 6/10

Pioneering SciFi of early rocket to the Moon.
(Not to forget Méliès (1902), Lang (1929), others.)
This one is heavy on science, or Hollywood science, with technical difficulties explained.
Characters are stuffy at times, and the narration seems docudrama.
The effects are pretty good, the Moon sets inspired, as is the photography.
Even unexpected drama and conflict from time to time.
What surprises is how accurate some of the predictions were.
Slowish, but worthwhile for fans of 1950’s SciFi.

The Girls At The Back - 2022 - 7/10
AKA - Las de la última fila

Solidarity. The sort that only best friends, childhood friends, often share.
So, when one is diagnosed with cancer, they all shave their heads and go to the beach.
They have agreed not to discuss the C word, and to take dares.
Step out of their routines, their comfort zones.
Brief series one should not rush through.
Flashbacks surface and disappear without warning. As do internal conversations.
The women, in their 30’s, are full of life, and more perceptive about friends than themselves.
Chick drama. γνῶθι σεαυτόν

Night Shift - 2023 - 6/10

Dheeraj works as a cabbie, working himself to exhaustion.
He has not met his quota and must keep driving, then picks up a fare hurrying to reach the airport.
Unaware she is a troublemaker, an instigator. Who claws into his loneliness.
Hindi short is a moody Noir, using conversation to push the story.

Duncan, Andy and Ellen Klages - Wakulla Springs

Up around Apalachicola, jungle oblivion, pre-kudzu. Home of a crystal clear pool of unfathomed depth. Perfect for Hollywood productions.
This novel divides into four sections, four decades. The 1930’s, when Johnny Weissmuller films another Tarzan adventure, swimming and diving in Wakulla Springs. This is Jim Crow Dixie, which Tarzan neither understands, nor sympathizes with.
Come the 1950’s, a young boy, son of one of the maids, watches eagerly as underwater shooting begins on the Gillman, later titled, “The Creature From The Black Lagoon”.
The final two sections are brief returns of characters, now in the 1960’s and 2000’s. A highlight of this portion is a wry, cantankerous interview with Cheeta. Other retired stars may be interview shy, but Cheeta is not one for discretion, no sir.
Both writers provide a lengthy introduction, discussing genesis and process. The book is neither Fantasy nor SciFi, but a golden hued back glance at times that were not necessarily golden.

Razor Blade Smile - 1998 - 5/10

Eileen Daly parlayed her intro-host role for Redemption/Salvation Films into this attempt.
Lilith, turned vampire 100 years earlier, works as an assassin.
Targeting members of the (trendy in the ‘90’s) Illuminati.
Despite being a vampire, she relies on firearms (or sword).
Her wardrobe is leather or vinyl to display her silicone boost.
Flashy at times, other moments beyond cheap.
Nevertheless, the cast seems to be having fun with moronic script.

Mystery 101 - 2020 - 6/10

Hallmark whodunit film series, far above their usual fare.
Professor Amy Winslow teaches crime fiction at the local university.
Detective Travis Burke relocates from the big city, unaware of the crimes and murders in the sleepy community.
These programs rely on the charisma and chemistry of the lead characters.
Most flail somewhere between smirking and smarmy.
In Mystery 101, the players look, act and behave like adults – not arrested adolescents.
The puzzle plots are fair to good, and the character arc reaches a nice conclusion.
Except – the canned Spam IQ of Hallmark tacked on an incongruous 30” cliffhanger.
Before the canceling the series.

The Bravados - 1958 - 7/10

Douglass arrives in the small town to watch a hanging.
Four outlaws. The men Douglas had been tracking after they murdered his wife.
Instead of a hanging, the men escape, and Douglass leads the posse.
Hard-edged, violent Western of obsession and self-righteous vengeance.
Gregory Peck, who I usually view as a pompous ham, is exceptional as the man blinded by fury.
While not listed as such, this is a terrific Noir.
I grew up on the black & white version, and that is how I prefer to view this one.

Magnum Force - 1973 - 7/10

Inspector Harry Callahan returns in this, in many ways, more violent sequel.
Thanks to good lawyers and lenient courtrooms, criminals are escaping justice.
Only, not quite. A small unit is single-handedly dispensing judgment. Lethal judgment.
The message here is more heavy handed than Dirty Harry.
Might makes right. Agitprop. Be aware of this and you should appreciate this one.
The poliziotesschi Execution Squad came out a year before and I wonder if that informed this film.

War Of The Satellites - 1958 - 5/10

Every time the Space Agency tries to place a satellite into orbit, boom!
Soon we learn, the Spiral Nebula Ghana has banned humanity from exploring space.
They take telepathic control of the agency chief.
Cheapo Roger Corman has no real plot, dime store sets, and only two of the players can act.
No matter. This moves like mad. You can only register one implausibility before another displaces it.
Thrilling entertainment when I was a kid. Even now, watchable.

An Easy Girl - 2019 - 6/10
AKA - Une Fille Facile

Sofia arrives in Cannes to visit her younger cousin, Naima.
Naima, torn between going into acting or becoming a chef has her head turned.
For Sofia doesn’t really work. She is attractive and knows which parties and yachts to crash.
Sofia is a high class moocher. Not quite a call-girl, yet she receives very expensive gifts.
Muddled, empty-headed coming of age film, packed with nudity and boffing.
A few of the actual actors have more interesting experiences than these characters.

Samurai Rebellion - 1967 - 7/10
AKA - Jôi-uchi: Hairyô Tsuma Shimatsu // 奪命劍

The local lord, displeased with his mistress, forces her to marry the son of a swordsman.
Surprisingly, the young man, Yogoro, and girl, Ichi, enjoy each other and fall in love.
Two years later, the lord changes his mind, and wants Ichi back.
By any means necessary.

Simmering buildup of corroding clan loyalty, honor, and whether to obey a despotic leader.
By the final half hour, tensions boil over and blood begins to flow.
Possibly too slow for impatient types.
The theme of bully leaders ordering followers and retainers to do their dirty work while they reside in comfort still resonates.

The October Man - 1947 - 6/10

After a horrific train accident, Jim suffers a fractured skull and is institutionalized for a year.
Upon release, he makes small steps. A new job, room in a boarding house.
Yet, when one of the roomers is murdered, and with Jim’s history, police suspect him.
Dark looking Noir about the innocent man … or is he innocent?
Fine Hitchcock type, although Hitchcock would give the police half credit for intelligence.
Police in this are especially inept, quick to frame and curtail investigations.

Ilsa: She Wolf Of The SS - 1975 - 6/10

Ilsa, Nazi commandant of a POW camp, tortures female captives, exhausts menfolk.
Warning to men, this is not a female to disappoint. You better have endurance.
As for female prisoners, Ilsa is a doctor who experiments with pain thresholds.
Expect flesh and fluids in mean exploitation.
Thus said, I have viewed this several times. It is “superior” to the in-name sequels.
Not that you will listen, if you see / buy one Ilsa, you’ll get ’em all.
Hey! If the prison camp looks familiar, it was Stalag 13 in “Hogan’s Heroes.”

Naked Poison - 2000 - 5/10
AKA - Shou xing xin ren lei// 獸性新人類

Office lackey Man Chi is bullied and taunted by colleagues and superiors.
Instead of approaching girls, he prefers upskirting and peeping at neighbors.

A spineless milquetoast, who, despite that, longs for the clout of authority.
After grandfather dies, Man Chi takes over the medicine / herbal shop.
And concocts a potent aphrodisiac. Females devolve into sex starved slaves.
Cat III nasty boasts a lot of soft core ruttings, and sticky business when potion side effects hit.
Not as lurid as it pretends to be. I imagine Cat III was given because of the unsavory undertone.

Rulers Of The City - 1976 - 6/10
AKA - I Padroni Della Città

Tony is a low level enforcer, busting heads when marks fall behind in protection payments.
He is actually a small fish in a second rate group.
The bigger unit belongs to Scarface (Jack Palance), who cheats the group out of money.
Taking the initiative, Tony cons Scarface big time, and sets off a gang war.
Contrary to how it sounds, this is played with a light touch.
True, beatings and killings abound, and there is a lengthy shootout in the slaughterhouse.
Nevertheless, the pace moves like quicksilver, Tony has charm, and the film is fun.

Empire Of Light - 2022 - 6/10

Hilary is the duty manager of the Empire Theatre.
Word has it that the theatre will premier a new film, “Chariots Of Fire.”
Time, 1981, place appears to be Margate, a seaside town.
The theatre has a staff of 6-7, which takes one back to before video rentals slashed attendance.
Hilary sees a therapist who inquires about her Lithium dosage.
Like most, she feels numb; like many, she skips her meds from time to time.

Although other films are referenced, and there is a feast of posters, old photos, lobby cards, this is essentially a character study.
Hilary soon bonds with new hire Stephen who has seen his own dreams crushed amidst racism, sexism, violence.
The film bites into several topics, without getting too obvious or righteous.
Rapier like, making points, stepping back.

Collins, Wilkie - No Name

Highly unexpected, not to say awkward, and certainly uncomfortable.
At least for the sisters Vanstone, who, upon the sudden death of both parents, discover said parents were not exactly married. Meaning sisters Norah and Magdalen, legally, are out of the will.
The inheritance new falls to their father’s estranged brother.
The narrative rapidly shifts to young Magdalen, she of a theatrical bent, who hatches a series of schemes and shenanigans to gain back part of the money.
For fans of Victorian literature, there is plenty to enjoy here. Particularly a few of the minor players, including the genial swindler, Captain Wragge, and the competition, the avaricious Virginie Lecount.
Well plotted, although eighteen year old Magdalen often seems too experienced in light of her youth and previous (sheltered) existence.
This is a good choice for those who have read Mr. Collins’ more popular titles and are curious about others.

Flat - 2018 - 7/10

Driving home from a trip, Matt detours into Joshua Tree.
Off the main highway, his car has a breakdown.
Coming to assist is not the sweaty, fat, hairy mechanic our driver expects.
Great little short. Well acted, well shot, sharp dialogue.

Subs = https://subscene.com/subtitles/flat/english/3142560

Tarantula - 1955 - 6/10

So, this isolated desert laboratory is experimenting to enlarge lifeforms for food.
Outstanding, if you are growing huge wheat sheaves or super-colossal shrimp.
But when a spider gets exposed to the growth hormone, away it goes, and away it grows.
Chowing down on livestock and moronic humans who don’t know to run from a gigantic arachnid.
As a kid, I found this notion plausible, growth hormone, I mean.
Still a good late-nite monster flick, one of the better bug ones (yes, and a spider ain’t no bug).

The Great Escape - 1963 - 7/10

The plan was innovative – and true!
A mass breakout of hundreds of Allied POWs from an escape-proof German camp.
Who scatter in endless directions like a disturbed ant mound, forcing the Germans to waste time and resources chasing them across the Reich.
Very long build up, overlong perhaps, relying too much on shenanigans and comic touches.
That said, there are numerous characters and this works to help ID them alter on.
Because once the plan unfolds, this movie rolls!
Powerhouse cast, memorable score, solid action and stunts.
Classic film, if a little dodgy, history wise.

Search For Beauty - 1934 - 6/10

Pre-Code satire of the fitness craze of the 1930’s.
I suppose every generation goes through healthy diets and exercising before succumbing to second portions and lethargy.
A viral Buster Crabbe plays an Olympic swimmer (Crabbe medaled twice), Ida Lupino an Olympic high diver.
Swindlers convince them to promote their “fitness” magazine, which is little more than cheesecake and beefcake.
Along with very lurid stories and testimonials.
Beauty may be valued, but sex sells.
Naughty film, laced with innuendo, scanty clothes, male & female objectification.

The Monolith Monsters - 1957 - 6/10

Meteorite fragments smash into the desert – then the pieces start to grow!
Doom disaster of towering rocks? Toppling into chunks, then growing again.
Half intelligent SciFi replaces alien malevolence with something closer to a plague.
Luckily, the small town has a scientist who attempts to stop the rocks.
Add a thoughtful, no-nonsense sheriff, and desert temps that don’t appear to be 120°.
Once a mainstay of late nite Chiller theater, this is still better than any teen monster flick.