Vultural

Secret - 2009 - 6/10
AKA - Sikeurit // 시크릿

A bullying thug is murdered, and his brother is a ruthless mob boss.
As the gang leader searches for the killer, so do the police.
One in particular, a corrupt cop, suspects the killer is his own wife.
The couple have marital problems, and the tears and angst drag the whole show down.
The “plot” is of our cop trying to destroy or mislay evidence.
Then there’s a mysterious blackmailer.
If you stick with this, there are a remarkable series of twists in the final act.

The Restaurant - 2003 - 6/10

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Early, so-called reality show hews closer to that overused “reality” moniker.
Celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito (celebrity meaning, he wrote a book) launches a Manhattan restaurant.
Series shows the serving staff and the cooks working the flames.
Also the problems: bad reviews, money issues, personal conflicts.
Plus, the obvious fact that Rocco flat out does NOT want to work.
He would rather wander the tables and flirt with attractive females.
Rocco does not even run the pass.
Unlike scripted reality shows, here you are a fly on the ceiling, observing a trainwreck caused by the owner.

Harsch, Rick - The Skulls Of Istria

Diatribe, travelogue, brutal exposé of preening humanity.

Our narrator, a self described defrocked academic, enters as a drunken barfly, jabbering away at the man seated across the table. Who may, or may not, understand English.
No matter. The silent companion comprehends the key element: sit listening and the drinks are free. Sorta like the free meals with preaching inside the Salvation Army mission.

The breeze of words soon blows into a gale.
Our narrator, once worked for a doctorate, despite a distracted work ethic. Dashing across a series of unfinished books ~ concepts launched then discarded for fresh novelties. Likewise, females.
As he wanders across the continental USA, then into the Balkans, he finds his forte.

The soured observer.
Tourists, for example. “… the inadvertent recorders of their own doom, voracious photosnappers waging their undeclared war of attrition against magnificence, stunting vengefully what promises elude them,” or “American tourists always think that to step out of west Europe is to step into war.”

A barely whispered lament is how, as the Balkans become more touristy, the rest of the planet becomes more Balkan.
Endless conflicts, petty and writ large. Species human, treacherous liars and murderers. Even the well meaning hide blood soaked hands.

Don’t be put off. This is a roller coaster of a book. Read it, brush up on your Balkan history, reaffirm your place in the Great Parade.

Nightshift - 2020 - 6/10

Zein works the graveyard shift for Delta Telecommunications.
Customers phoning about outages, connectivity issues, whatever.
One infuriated caller repeatedly crosses the line, leaving our poor worker to deal with it.
Ugly short will strike a chord with any hapless soul who ever worked the phone line.

Chloe - 2022 - 6/10

Middle of the night, Becky receives a cry for help from her childhood friend, Chloe.
Too late, Becky learns she is dead.
She adopts the name Sasha, along with a new persona, and ingratiates herself with Chloe’s wealthy friends.
Since Chloe’s death feels somewhat sinister.
Dicey six part series shuffles time and perception.
Often we observe Sasha’s theorizing of an event, only to be reeled back to reality.
There is much to enjoy if winding thrillers are your cup of tea.
“Heavy sleeper” concept over-used, and the ending borders on a mere attempt.

Various (Editor: Beech, Mark) - Unquiet Grove

Dark events set in the greenwood, well deep in the forests, far away from any footpath, let alone roadway. A world thronged with aged trees, whose perceptions of humans range from indifference to apprehension to hostility.

While out inspecting his estates, Mr Hopking died unexpectedly at age 47. He had been a talented, if eccentric, horticulturist. 150 years after his death, swathes of his grounds flourish still, resisting developers. In “The Secret Plantings Of Bostick St. Leonard” a descendant unwisely attempts to unravel bygone mysteries.

The city family relocates to the less hectic countryside. The new home, bought for a song, is in disrepair. Meantime, none of the locals will say why it is called “Burnt Orchard”. While wife and son succumb to the drowsy spell of the area, husband Nat resists and observes in growing anxiety.

A chance encounter with a doddering, semi-retired colleague, launches Dr. Suffling along a trail to modern paganism. “At The Roots” finds him drawn into a strange world of transmutation.

“The Dark Ballet Of The Trees” proves to be one of the bleakest works in this collection. An asylum for the mentally or emotionally damaged, run by a theatre impresario. Times are harsh, however, in what appears to be wartime Britain. Everything is impacted by the Blitz. Restrictions and money woes push several players into a corner, where anger and resentment inflames into rage.

A fateful encounter between one of the Fair and a young girl with a streak of witchery. ”In The White May”, both pocket something of an agenda. While they neither outright lies – both withhold. A haunting tale that lingers longer after the pages close.

“Uhripuu” journeys to the remote forest. Finland, buried under snow, where wilderness is being ravaged by a devastating fungus. Science, unable to reach a solution, invites a folklorist to listen to old tales, perhaps find a remedy in arcane legends. Another story of untrustworthy characters, hidden motives, with, perhaps, parallels to modern plagues – or ongoing pandemics.

Plunkett & MacLean - 1999 - 6/10

Freewheeling retelling of a pair of highwaymen.
A fallen criminal pairs up with an impoverished gentleman.
Robbing from the rich and giving to … themselves.
An antidote to glossy productions, this is grubby and dirty.
Where even amorous relations result in sore consequences.
Funny throughout, situations and wordplay, layered with a thoroughly modern dance score.
Truth, ever strange = https://www.irishpost.com/news/irelands-gentleman-highwayman-seven-facts-about-the-irish-outlaw-of-london-hanged-for-his-courteous-crimes-102797

The Old Man And The Sea - 1958 - 6/10

Spencer Tracy in essentially a one man vehicle.
An elderly Cuban fisherman has not caught a “big one” in months.
Until he lands a huge marlin, larger than his boat.
Therein is the drama, how to bring catch back intact, with sharks about.
Not high adventure, but an existential struggle of Man vs. Nature.
Long at 90”, it feels slow, despite lush photography.
I am hardly a Tracy fan, and this is just one more of his films that left me flat.

Fragile - 2019 - 7/10

An off-road auto crash leaves two men dead.
Both were apparently strangers: Felix from a wealthy family, Dom working class.
As police try to put together why they were in the same truck, the back story unfolds.
That is also the trick to this well crafted Canadian series.
It is fairly clear, the crash was no accident.
The small town isn’t so much a nest of secrets, as it is of longings and frustrations.
As well as buried wrongs and long held resentments.

Atlantis, The Lost Continent - 1961 - 5/10

Two fishermen rescue a shipwrecked female, then take her back to her home.
Turns out, she is a princess of Atlantis!
Is there a reward? Nope, just slave labor for our eagle scouts.
Turns out there is a power struggle for the kingdom.
Big budget sword and sandal has interesting effects, but no script.
Expensive and stupid.
My favorite was the energy crystal death ray gizmo, which was swiped from Archimedes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archimedes’_heat_ray

Theater Camp - 2023 - 7/10

Theatre aspirants, register immediately!
Summer camp for children smitten with the acting bug.
Trouble behind the scenes, however, as the founder has suffered a stroke and the finances are dire.
Not to fear, her dimwitted son is bursting with ideas.
Kids rehearse, counselors nurse grievances, crises erupt.
Missing anything? How about, the bank is ready to foreclose.
A jewel for fans of theatre, especially musical theatre.
Fans of Connie And Carla, of Waiting For Guffman, shoot, Footlight Parade (1933), hurry to find your seats already!

The Iron Commissioner - 1978 - 5/10
AKA - Il Commissario di Ferro

Mauro is a one-man police unit. Backup? Ordinary patrolmen? Who needs ’em?
Almost single-handedly, he busts a kidnapping ring.
When a few escape, he begins the hunt.
Mauro neglects his family, doesn’t bother going to HQ.
Thereby missing out when a terrorist takes over his office.
Two unconnected storylines, neither compelling.
Half baked, rushed Euro-Crime clone.

Space Sweepers - 2021 - 5/10
AKA - Seungriho // 승리호

Space janitors sweep debris from orbit. Defunct satellites, crushed vessels, bodies …
The crew of the Victory finds a small girl, who turns out to be an android, who is actually a mega-bomb.
Will the crew bond with their find? Will conspiracy types stop at nothing to acquire the “child”?
Best suited for families, others will find this cringe time.
Aside from a few characters, everyone has the maturity of eight-year-olds.
Sadly, like many Korean films this is overlong. Action sequences go on and on.
Heroics are never ending. Everything is excess overload.
Again, for families – children – this will be OK.

I Love This Dirty Town - 1969 - 6/10

Margaret Drabble bemoans the transition of the city into suburbia.
One realizes the city, for her, is dozens, if not hundreds, of small villages.
Freestanding green-grocers and butchers, instead of Tesco and Marks & Spencers.
Independent chemists, rather than Boots. Pedestrians over the motor car.
Her complaints likely resonated when Romans organized Londinium.
Ever the battle between developers and residents.
James Mason explored this topic in The London Nobody Knows (1969).
Suggs turned the lens towards places on the verge of extinction in Disappearing London (2006).

The Phantom Empire - 1935 - 5/10

Oh, man. One of the most absurd serials ever, and mightily entertaining!
The lost civilization of Mu is somehow underneath the Western desert.
More than that, it is underneath Gene Autry’s Radio Ranch.
He and his cowpokes find it, but the Muranian Queen does not want surface dwellers near her kingdom.
Meanwhile, there are the usual villains, greedy land developers who cover Radio Ranch!
All sorts of shenanigans keep Gene and his friends galloping across the sagebrush.
Still, he finds time to sing daily at 2:00.
Did I mention Mu robots wearing metal Stetsons?

Zorro’s Fighting Legion - 1939 - 7/10

For a Saturday matinee serial, this is full of exciting adventures.
High filmmaking artistry?
The Lord of Gold (Don Del Oro), with plans to become emperor, steals gold shipments.
Enter Zorro, and his band of …ahem … singing men.
OK, they mostly sing the “We Ride” song.
This is set in Mexico, not California, though villagers immediately recognize the hero.
Excellent budget for this Republic serial, star power (Reed Hadley), outstanding stunts.
Best DVD copy is the restoration by Serial Squadron.

Photographing Fairies - 1997 - 6/10

Following the death of his fiancée, Charles enlists and enters the Great War.
Afterwards, he makes a living photographing death servicemen with their families.
All the while, however, he is a haunted soul.
He is drawn into the world of faeries, particularly capturing images of them.
To do this, he begins taking hallucinogens.
Moreover, he incurs the wrath of a fundamentalist reverend, concerned about faeries and paganism.
There is a lot in this film, and it is, in many ways, richer than Fairy Tale (1997).

Shakespeare In Love - 1998 - 7/10

Nicely told fairy tale of the famous playwright hitting writer’s block.
The cure? A clandestine affair with a lady betrothed to powerful Lord Wessex.
Instead of a typical romance, this bounces freely across the theatre boards.
Struggling acting companies, arcane legal restrictions, figuring out what the punter want.
And will play for.
Paltrow and Fiennes have exciting chemistry; the whole cast is top notch.
For worries, dialogue is NOT Elizabethan English.
Terrific date movie.

A Woman Of No Importance - 2017 - 7/10

Young Gerald is hired to be secretary for Lord Illingworth.
Unaware that the Lord is his actual father, who seduced then abandoned his mother years earlier.
At a soiree of the gentry, Gerald’s mother, Mrs. Arbuthnot arrives, as does an outspoken American heiress,
This rendition by Spring Theatre is of two halves, and feels like two different works.
The first section sparkles with witty, at times trenchant, dialogue, barbed and cynical.
The second, however, is a confrontation between Illingworh and Arbuthnot.
Wit is replaced by resentment, and bracing accusation of the double standard between men and women.
Very much an early pre-feminist or proto-feminist work.
Plus, a trio of unexpected, delightful songs!

Blue Thunder - 1983 - 6/10

LAPD pilot is assigned to train on a new, cutting edge helicopter.
Designed for riots or crowd control, this beast is military assault.
In due course, our pilot (a coasting Roy Scheider) suspects nefarious forces.
The film wanders all over thriller, voyeurism, mystery, even romance.
The plot feels like concepts cobbled together by the writer, oops writers, and the result is messy.
Action pieces are standout, however. Malcolm McDowell terrific as villain.
Surveillance paranoia dated today as CC and drones are daily realities.

Little, Bentley - Indignities Of The Flesh

Referencing Machen’s Hieroglyphics, this is a collection of reading matter.
Stories neither horrific nor frightening, nor particularly memorable. Any of them would be suitable for Readers Digest.

From teeth brushing to whacking the piñata to crafting gingerbread men to foiling Disney thugs.

“Even The Dead” stands out as a melancholy tale, while “Pray 4 Baby” sets up a tone of dread in the stifling desert.

If this had been a paperback, I would have left my copy in any airport terminal for the next curious reader. In a phrase, this is a travel read. Disposable.

A few years ago, gushing readers compared Mr Little to Stephen King.
I don’t see it.

A Simple Favor - 2018 - 7/10

Single mom Stephanie is the go-getter volunteer for school activities.
Behind the smiles, she is lonely, and doesn’t have much of a life.
Until she meets fellow parent Emily, ballbreaking PR for a New York agency.
Obvious misfits, yet they strike an odd friendship,
So much so, when Emily disappears Stephanie becomes a sleuth.
Not only a decent mystery, this is a savage parody of vlogs, influencers, and Hallmark derivatives.
Deceptively written, skillfully potted, though with enough foul language to send paper hearts running.
Your squeeze suggests another mystery romance, queue this screamingly funny gem instead.

Crime Doctor - 1943 - 6/10

Kicked from a speeding car, the man is rescued, taken to hospital.
Revives. Oh, no! Amnesia.
So, like so many who have lost their memory, he goes to medical school and becomes a doctor.
Of course, amnesia or not, somebody pushed him from the car.
B-film crime thriller shuffles at a brisk pace, leaving numerous clues who the doctor had been previously.
No great shakes, but adequate entertainment.
First of the Crime Doctor series.
Ray Collins plays his initial doctor, later partner, and his character already resembles Lt. Tragg.

Kill Zone - 2005 - 7/10
AKA - Saat po Long // 殺破狼

Chief inspector Chung has tried to nail crime boss Wong Po for years.
Chung, now with a brain tumor, is set to retire and hand the reins to Kwan.
Yet, he still wants to toss Wong Po behind bars, even if that means breaking the law.
Straightforward Hong Kong actioner boasts three top stars.
Simon Yam as the inspector. Sammo Hung, cast against type as the deadly Po.
And Donnie Yen, in absolute peak form!
The photography in this bleak, Neo Noir is outstanding.
Numerous fights in this, all dazzling showstoppers.

Pickup - 1951 - 6/10

After his dog is killed, Jan heads to the town carnival for a new puppy.
There, he crosses paths with Betty, a low-life floozy who wants a good time.

She is also distressingly poor, and smells money on the lonely man.
Soon enough, she weds him, then schemes to make herself a rich widow.
Trashy Noir benefits from Beverly Michaels’ surly, contemptuous performance.
Offbeat film, more cult than Noir classic.