Vultural

The Women Of Weird Tales - (Intro: Melanie Anderson)

Elsewhere, there is a thread regarding the challenge of reading the aesthetically dubious book. As a purely physical object, this particular title is lower rung.
First impressions, the pages are thin and crease easily. The gutters are tight.
Introductions and biographies are minimal, yet to the point. The exterior has that peculiar feel that I associate with items hailing from that P.O.D. factory, ICGtesting.
Finally, the cover art, designed by M S Corley, a decent cartoonist, is more suited to Highlights For Children, found in dentist’s waiting rooms for decades.

I was interested in this for the five Greye La Spina entries. In 2011, Arkham House, then being helmed by Robert Weinberg and George Vanderburgh as editors, issued the “last” physical flyer, announcing an upcoming Greye La Spina collection, The Gargoyle And Others. Arkham’s troubles were only worsening at this time, and the book never came out. So I hoped these five had been part of that anthology. In any event, they are among the best in this collection.
Pan, abandoning a war torn Old World for the New, finds a garden, with nymph, which he approves. In ”Great Pan Is Here,” the god warns to stuffy young owner not to challenge him, and to also hold tight to his lady love.
A matter of stitching is involved in “The Antimacassar.” Lucy travels into the countryside, searching for her mentor. Something is definitely amiss in the small house, where the widow keeps secrets and her daughter is kept locked up.
Everil Worrell is also allotted five entries, but these are lighter in tone, tinged with romance and the stray touch of SciFi. Eccentric inventor and visionary, Count Zolani, prepares to sent voyagers into the cosmos. He needs financial backing, of course, to rebuild the derelict mansion on the cliff know as “Vulture Crag.”
“The Rays Of The Moon” lingers on the grave robber, the young medical intern, who requires fresh corpses. Under the moonlight, he encounters the otherworldly.
Top name, Mary Elizabeth Counselman, is granted two stories, the more obscure being “The Web Of Silence,” a tongue in cheek satire of blackmail and epidemic.
Eli Colter, less know perhaps, has one yarn, “The Curse Of A Song,” which, stylistically, seems to hark back to the gaslit Victorian era.

The stories are hit and miss, though mostly enjoyable. The book itself … it is what it is.

Roosevelt Game - 2014 - 8/10
AKA - Ruzuveruto Gemu // ルーズヴェルト・ゲーム

Nine innings J-dorama, set in the corporate boardroom, in the research lab, and on the diamond.
Small manufacturing firm finds itself under serious attack by king sized competitor.
The larger outfit has deep pockets, and they launch every trick in the book to destroy the smaller group.
To add insult to injury, the big guys even poach three top players and coach from the small firm’s baseball team.
(Footnote - Corporations in Japan sponsor their own teams, have a season, and a tournament.)
To save money, the small firm initiates layoffs and decides to shutter the baseball club.
They compromise, however, and the team will be disbanded only after they lose in the playoffs.

Bet you can see where this is heading? Well, not exactly.
In the best tradition of J-doramas, the villains are wicked, sinister types.
But they are not stupid. In the ballpark, or in the boardroom, they are crafty and intelligent.
They countermove every tack the smaller electronics firm attempts to stay alive.
An addicting, nine episode series, with the battles played across multiple fronts.
Of course, the ball teams will square off eventually.

Enjoyed this greatly, and I truly despise baseball, specifically overpaid, MLB players who give the impression they don’t even like playing the game, disdain fans who root them on.
The games in this are old-fashioned, and the players earn next to nothing, so they play for love of the game.
Baseball fans, track this down!

The Making Of A Man - 1911 - 5/10

The acting troupe makes a whistle-stop in a small town.
And the lead actor makes an impression on a star struck girl.
So much so, that before you know it, they are hitched.

“Yes, I have the license here, so … what … she’s how old?”
True love is crushed again. Only then, nine months later, whoops!
Decent Biograph melodrama has little to do with “the man” and more with the girl (15 year old Blanche Sweet).
An early silent, I suspect most of actors had toured theatrically for years and knew this tale too well.

Look Back In Anger - 1989 - 6/10

Jimmy, educated working class, runs a sweets shop and lives in a cheap attic flat with his wife.
His wife, Helena, middle class, with better family, friends and connections, endures his tirades.
And my God, what tirades they are!
The self-satisfied middle class (of which he is not a member), Helena’s family, the newspaper, church bells.
On and on, though increasingly, he unleashes his fury onto his wife, a passive, stoical doormat.
This is a one set play, and Kenneth Branagh’s Jimmy is a resentful, hate spewing force.
While well acted, Jimmy’s wallowing pity party grows tedious at times.

Flux Gourmet - 2022 - 7/10

Stop! Many movie sites list this under the Horror genre. It is not.
This is a stinging, often hilarious satire on performance artists and culinary shows, with gory elements.
It is also a Peter Strickland film, arthouse territory with mannered dialogue that skitters across the dining table.
In short, Elle is the frontman, the food performer, with her two “Sonic Caterers”.
They are in residence at the (unnamed) Institute for a month, honing their art, despite administrative interference.
Many cast members from In Fabric (2019) are here again, and that film approximates Aickman or Ligotti, meaning strange. Not visceral gore.
With this director, I would suggest viewing Berberian Sound Studio (2012) first, which hews closer to horror.
Strickland is an auteur whose films are cult now, but will gain in stature over time.

Shakespeare On Stage, Screen And Elsewhere - 2016 - 7/10

Part of 2016‘s Shakespeare Lives celebration across Britain.
I thought this would be a film survey, but it is actually a lecture by Ian McKellen.
Personal memoir, anecdotes of productions, bios of bygone actors.
As well as the conspiracy theory of questionable authorship - which McKellen does not subscribe to.
Knowledgeable audience had apparently seen many of the lesser known works.
McKellen, a cheerful raconteur, frequently pauses to find his thought.
Impatient or multi-tasked souls may glance at the exits.

Last And First Men - 2020 - 7/10

Text by Olaf Stapledon, images from Yugoslav memorials.
From the far future, 2000 million years from now, surviving humanity tries to contact us.
As the sun expanded, the populace relocated to Neptune.
Dwellings are twenty or more miles at the base, and tower into and above the atmosphere.

Humans evolve beyond recognition.
Some exist in a group mind, others, far-flung, are navigators.
Others pass through diverse time frames, akin to what, non-Euclidean time?
Their collected voice reaches out because they want to help, and because they need help.

Stimulating and challenging fare, the first (and last) by Jóhann Jóhannsson.
Arthouse SciFi, those familiar with Lovecraft’s cosmic scale will appreciate.

Tokyo Fiancée - 2014 - 6/10

20 year old Belgium girl moves to Tokyo and offers to teach French lessons.
She gets one client, a male her own age, who seems to speak French passably well.
Nonetheless, money is money and they meet weekly.
Sparks don’t exactly fly as both seem to suffer cultural misperceptions of each other.
He introduces her to friends as his fiancée, she is convinced he is Yakuza.
Story winds in unpredictable directions and often dead-ends.
Several scenes were, perhaps, symbolic, except I was unable to comprehend their meaning.

Hall, Oakley - So Many Doors

From the Hard Case Crime press, this is not crime, not hardboiled, not even a mystery.
Jack Ward sits in his prison cell, ignoring the lawyer assigned to defend him.
“Yes, I killed her,” he confesses. “I’m not fighting, either. Just get it over with.”
The “her” in question is Vasilia Baird, who goes simply by V.
Their story, told from multiple points of view, is of a toxic relationship.
Jack and V push each other’s buttons, torment each other, flee, and then are drawn back.
This has the makings of a Noir, but underneath the dark trappings this is a melodrama.
Two adults who, for all their experiences, are little more than pouting teenagers.
What most of us grew out of by our early 20’s.
About midway, I began envisioning Douglas Sirk adapting this for Hollywood.
Possibly better than this disappointment.

Straight Outta Compton - 2016 - 7/10

Rousing biopic of badboy rappers, N.W.A.
Standard tale of friends forming a band, hitting the big time, then the money fights.
Focus is on Eazy, Cube and Dre, and the latter seems to have been smoothed a shade.
Not too many liberties taken, though my knowledge is basic at best.
I checked for inaccuracies later and found minor, aside from Heller’s litany.
Should appeal to the mainstream despite expletives, weed use, nudity, coochie poppin …
By a quirk of casting, Paul Giamatti plays NWA’s shifty manager. Soon as I saw him I hollered, “Look out guys! That’s Dr Landy. He fleeced Brian Wilson (“Love And Mercy”). Look out!”
Oddly enough, I found myself giving footnotes to innocents around me. “What does OG mean?” “Who is Suge Knight?”
I watched the extended cut, almost three hours, and it never dragged.

Munkie - 2021 - 6/10

22 year old Rose still lives with her strict, controlling parents.
They disapprove of her “bad” boyfriend and lock her inside their home.
Growing more furious by the minute, Rose and boyfriend target the obstacles.
Slow burn crime story, based on Jennifer Pan, a Vietnamese-Canadian girl.
Think Kristi Koslow, or Alyssa Hatcher, or Jasmine Richardson, or Nina Holbrook, or Esmie Tseng …
One note short should stir resentful teen viewers.

Frozen Death (Cold Prey 1 - 2 ) - Mikedrew87

Norwegian slasher thrillers, joined together nicely. The first installment boasts the original concept but is marred by too many lulls. The sequel suffers a sense of repetition, yet the pace drove quicker. Even better, higher body count, and not just civilians, but cops. Professionals. MikeDrew chops 70 minutes in his edit, with little sense of loss.

Video - Great look throughout. Both films were always of halves - the blinding outdoor world, and dark, claustrophobic interiors. Edits are smooth and the transition between Part 01 and Part 02 graceful.

Audio - Solid 2 channel stereo. No difficulty hearing anything. Excellent subtitles. For those who don’t like to read movie subs, there was no dub track here. Get over it.

Narrative - The edit was heavy on Part 01. Establishing and getting to know characters. Part 02 was the last third of the edit, and the pace was hammer down. Scant character development, however. The cops’ scenes inside the hospital were heavily truncated. An error perhaps. As with most slasher fests, the more raw meat, the better. The narrative as a whole holds together, though gears seem to downshift a little between films. One logical issue never addressed (certainly not in either original) was how Jannicke manages to endure outdoor conditions without thermal gear.

Enjoyment - Difficult to say. More gratifying than the first film, and I truly appreciate the fact that MikeDrew rendered his edit to under two hours. Police sequences at the hospital would have enhanced the gore … yet … and this is a concession … I understand how that reinforces a major criticism of the sequel, the seeming invincibility of Mr Snowman. After considering, yes, MikeDrew made the correct editing decision.

Very satisfying slasher film. Especially welcome during cold months. Or summer, when your AC cannot keep up.

The All-New Adventures Of Chastity Blade (2000) - Dr. Sapirstein

Filesize = 631 MB, Video = 1920 X 1080p AVC, Audio = 128 Opus, 2 Channel Stereo. Subs, yes. Hardsubbed in French.

Straight off, I find Lisa Wilcox easy on the eyes, which was one reason why I had this.
The short, a “comedy”, is dumb. Not witty, not slapstick, simply empty, flat humor.
As always with Sapirstein, the video work is first rate.
The audio – Opus – would not play on my units so I converted to AC3.
Subs, while in French, were useful as most of the males were poorly miked. If you understand a bit of French they will assist.
Not that it matters, the source is a puerile attempt, at what? A busted pilot to spoof Irma Vep.
Aspiring faneditors, study the video upgrade, tune out the rest.

Humans Are Limited (2001 short) - Adabisi

Low scores on IFDB, c’mon. I think people miss the point of this.
This is HAL 9000’s version.
The stressed out A I who more or less unravels before his passengers’ eyes.
While the humans take precautions when evaluating scenarios, they don’t factor in HAL’s almost omnipotent intelligence.
Whereas some disliked the rather open ended conclusion, I found it darkly comic. (SPOILER) Here, Dave is SOL.
Editing is solid, the plot is cohesive.
And – this short actually occurs in space, damnit!

Cosmogony - The Man Behind The Mask (TMBTM)

Filesize = 4.16 GB, Video = 720 X 480p mpgv, Audio = 320 kbps 2-Channel Stereo AC3

Ambitious story of humanity from the genesis of the cosmos to modern day.
Film fans will recognize 2001, Quest For Fire, Apocalypto, The Mission, etc …
It does seem to settle in the New World, omitting whole continents.
Also, it is dated. Scenes from Koyaanisqatsi would have pointed where humanity is headed.
Along with the eternal, suicidal conflicts we engage in.

This is a DVD, with menu and trailer, few editors bother with those nowadays.
The audio is superior to the video, though I found the audio too loud most of the time, often overwhelming what sparse dialogue there is.
As far as music choices, for every good tune, there were three I rolled my eyes at. Tastes vary, so I just tried to ignore.
By the end, I found “the story of us” suffered from overreach. I still wonder if TMBTM was trying to replicate a huge screen IMAX event.
Where is this guy, anyway? Retired? Bummer, he remains a good editor.

Scream - The Giallo Cut - Neglify

Groundbreaking and fresh when first released, Scream has been copied and parodied so much that return viewings now seem stale and predictable. Neglify drags a rather scrubbed and polished film straight into grindhouse. The result is much better.

Video - Awful, by design. Cropped to 4 X 3 to resemble the VHS experience. The top of the screen suffers pronounced curling and distortion. Noise appears at random times, as does flutter. Then there are surprise, inserted scenes. Color does not match, nor does brightness or focus. That said, the video itself did not suffer from over-used damaging.

Audio - Pretty good here. I warble frequently about not being able to transition from deafening explosions to whispered dialogue, but no problem here.

Narrative - The additional sequences, a few seconds here and there, improve the story. Adding a flashback element to Sidney’s intimacy issues and obvious weird dreams.

Last rewatched on Halloween night. Have not watched the original in years, in fact, I’m tired of it and the bloatload of sequels.
Definitely one for Giallo fans - even if you’d only watched one or two Argento or Fulci. Be aware this ain’t your daddy’s Scream, though.

Wes Craven’s Dark Nightmare (Wes Craven’s New Nightmare) - Dr. Sapirstein

Filesize = 3.9 GB, Video = 1280 X 720p AVC, Audio = 448 kbps 5.1 AC3. No subs.

“The fans want Freddy back,” the producer informs Heather.
Yeah, maybe, but they probably did not want this stinker.
Even the gifted Dr. Sapirstein cannot completely remove the hog whiffle from this one.
Purging the screeching Dylan would have been the first and best step.
There are countless trims in this, which hurry the pace.
There is less Freddy, however, and more Dylan, who is annoying beyond belief.
(I am not a fan of the “child in danger” cliché. In US movies, kids are never killed.
The cutting is flawless. The sound mix is loud, bordering on bombastic at times.
Best part of this edit – putting Dokken back in.
Freddy curious, stick with #1 and #3.

The Adventures of Superman: The Kryptonite Saga Vol 1-3 - Siebener

Tasteful adaptation of lengthy radio serial.
All intro and closing music has been removed, as well as recaps.
The discreet over-layering of classical music cues enhance the soundscape.
Audio editing struck me as seamless.

This would make a nice introduction to OTR (old time radio), and it is just short enough to listen to on a commute.
60 minutes per remixed episode.
Bear in mind, Superman was a childrens program, so the plot is simplistic and many characters are adult juveniles.

Much of the youth tone disappears with V2, charting Superman’s fight with Atom Man, fiendish Nazi weapon.
The Nazi survivors are not cartoon types, either.
Despite being a childrens radio show, this was surprisingly dark, and somewhat techie, with references to atomic weaponry.
Artwork was fine, though images were available online featuring Atom Man.

With V3, Siebener concludes his Superman audio trilogy on a peak. This installment focuses on narrative and action. Next to no jokes, juvenile humor, or dimwitted henchmen.
Fun, popcorn packed adventure as the Man Of Steel battles Atom Man, the diehard Nazi, bent on destroying Metropolis. The last seconds of the edit even leave the possibility of a further sequel open … if barely a crack … with the Caped Crusader.

Werckmeister Harmonies - 2000 - 7/10
AKA - Werckmeister Harmóniák

We follow our narrator / observer Janos around his village as a circus sideshow arrives.
The “show” consists of the carcass of a massive, stuffed whale, and an unseen ”Prince.”
Townfolk mill around, grumbling, discontent rising into fiery destruction.
I do not know my Hungarian history, but I will wander out on a limb and guess the whale represents a regime of sorts, and the Prince is a puppet figurehead.
Much of the conflict, late in the film, reminded me of the Bosnian War in the 1990’s.
Then there is Janos’ uncle, a creative soul (the intelligentsia) and the estranged aunt (the deal maker of rebellion).
A very heady film, where I was baffled numerous times, but never lost interest.

In the Name Of My Daughter - 2014 - 6/10
AKA - L’homme qu’on Aimait Trop

Catherine Deneuve struggles to hold onto a high end casino, circa 1976.
Local politicos and developers would like her to close, so they can build luxury hotels.
A mega casino combine - who launders money for the mob - wants to push her out.
Her daughter returns after a messy divorce, demanding her inheritance.
Gliding, slithering, shifting between all parties is a young, smiling attorney.
Loosely based on real events, the film coils around the players, none of whom are truly clean.
Talky French drama, with nebulous resolution, had me wondering about double jeopardy in France.

Hearts Of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse - 1991 - 8/10

Documentary on the making of Apocalypse Now (1979).
Watching this, it’s a wonder how films, especially large extraordinary films, ever get made.
Script problems, blown budgets, actors (eg: Brando).
Location shooting, a heart attack (Sheen), constant studio meddling.
What is spectacular is how much private film footage was shot and assembled for this.
Typically, what we get are laughfests from players reminiscing how much fun things were.
This romps behind-the-scenes of massive creative egos, battles, waste.

The Last Bus - 2021 - 6/10

Likeable crowd pleaser should ring with the geriatric set.
Thomas sets off from Scotland for Lands End by bus. Make that buses.
Tom travels light: briefcase, some currency, Scotland transit pass.
Along the way we glimpse slices of his history, his wife and child.
Not much, though. Very little. Yet enough to realize his is the classic road trip.
15-20 minutes in, I suspect what is in his briefcase, and so will you.
The film panders to a nonexistent world, where young onlookers are mostly quiet and respectful and curious.
It is also WOKE informed, which I shrug at (woke folk aren’t going to watch this, anyway).
As in Mr. Turner (2014), Timothy Spall sports a frowning pout much of the time.
A tired crutch, and Spall is a better actor than this.

Houdini & Doyle - 2016 - 6/10

Escape artist and Sherlock creator solve crimes along with a female Scotland Yard inspector.
Fun, but not remotely historically accurate.
Doyle and Houdini have ongoing disputes over spiritualism, some episodes are borderline absurd, and the parade of “guests" grows strange, indeed.
Fans of Murdoch Mysteries ought to enjoy as H & D strongly resembles that show.
On the plus side, this series seems to be a one-off. If only more shows were thus.

Truly, Madly, Deeply - 1990 - 7/10

As in, do you love me truly, madly, deeply?
When cellist Jamie dies, partner Nina is inconsolable.
Would that he could return.
Only then, well, fulfilled dreams are seldom what one expects.
Juliet Stevenson and Alan Rickman totally believable as characters, as a couple.
Wonderful little film, haunting, poignant, about the flame of love that burns and burns.
Although living with a spectre has limitations.
The sun ain’t gonna shine anymore.

Northern Soul - 2014 - 6/10

Companion film to documentary Northern Soul: Living For The Weekend.
This opens as the scene seems near its zenith. Wigan Casino, “the” dancehall, is many miles away, however.
Drugs, primarily amphetamines, are a given (dancing till dawn) and dealing is a major subplot.
A secondary plot is tracking down obscure RnB 45s, or figuring out what mystery track a DJ is playing.
There is also a love - infatuation - story. Male bonding. Dance numbers.
The film suffers from a little bit of this, a little bit of that,
Really, the viewer unaware of the Northern Soul period might have trouble connecting the links here.
Fine soundtrack of lost Hard Soul music.
Enjoyable, though it meandered.