Vultural

Ghahwagi, Karim - Civilian

Three children are kidnapped. All trauma victims of shocking violence. Their kidnapper? The children’s counselor, now comatose following a failed suicide.
Speculative yarn plays out as a cross between thriller and horror, with a dose of SciFi babble. One could imagine Hollywood sniffing at this. Or this being pitched to a studio.
A degree of soft core torture porn for gorehounds, a race against time for thrill seekers, and dialogues about pervasive surveillance for the intelligentsia.
Main protagonist Jennifer Marshall deep dives into psyches for answers. Observant government handlers study her methods, learn the ropes, to better serve society later.
Her character, background, and concerns are well drawn, a highlight of the novel.
Helen Murbler, the comatose adversary, is less delineated, which is a shortcoming.
The book could have benefited from an English proofreader. Common mistakes such as loose for lose would have corrected. I might have punctuated a few sentences differently myself, though that is no complaint.
Overall, a strong, thought-provoking novel.

The Man Who Put His Will On Film - 1970 - 6/10
AKA - Tôkyô sensô sengo hiwa // 東京戦争戦後秘話 映画で遺書を残して死んだ男の物語

Motoki has his camera stolen. He pursues, the thief commits suicide, police confiscate the camera and beat him.
Except, when he regains consciousness, the film group tells him he was covering a violent student demonstration, and the police seized the camera as evidence, and beat him.
So what version is true?
A series of hunts or searches include hunting for the footage, searching for identity, or of meaning.
The group are all Marxist students, bent on serving the proletariat, shocking the bourgeois.
An experimental film, I was frequently unsure what was going on.

The Over The Hill Gang - 1969 - 5/10

The town is lawless, the mayor corrupt, sheriff incompetent.
Pa, visiting his daughter and son-in-law, sizes things up and decides to oust the outlaws.
Mind you, Pa is an ex-Texas Ranger, and he enlists more of his grizzled buddies to help.
This looks like a TV movie, with decent production values.
Main reason to watch this Mild Western is the irresistible cast.
Pat O’Brien, Walter Brennan, Andy Devine, Jack Elam, Chill Wills, Edgar Buchanan, Gypsy Rose Lee.
Hardly a classic, though harmless fun and a treat to see a posse of character actors.
Brazos!

Atomic Rulers - 1965 - 4/10

Ghastly. Shockingly bad. Terrible, in fact, although this exudes an innocent charm.
Starman is dispatched from Planet Emerald to protect Earth from nuclear weapon bullies from Metropol.
Starman, the definition of a 98 lb weakling, has super strength and wallops baddies without a sweat.
Sets appear to be wobbly cardboard, costumes pajamas (what today’s superheroes wear).
This was originally a 50’s children’s serial, which American distributors recut into four movies.
Three films followed. Equal standing all. Ridiculous.
I must confess to seeing this originally in the late 60’s. Then again at stoned movie houses in the 70’s.
Silly as this one is, it is superior to any Prince Of Space outing.

Written On The Wind - 1956 - 7/10

Friends Mitch and Kyle both fall for Lucy. Mitch, poor yet honest, Kyle a rich alcoholic.
Who will she pick? Ha! $$$ beats L-0-V-E, suckers.
But wait! Kyle also has a scheming, sex kitten sister, of easy disposition, who desperately wants Mitch.
Wonderful, trashy melodrama, packed with guilt, toxicity, schemes.
Sumptuous production values, florid cinematography.
For anyone curious about director Douglas Sirk, this is the film to watch.
100% soaper, but heavenly to take in.

Crimes And Misdemeanors - 1989 - 7/10

Eye specialist Judah has a successful practice, community esteem, strong marriage, and a mistress.
A mistress who is a headcase, demanding he get a divorce and marry her.
Who is unafraid to reveal all to his wife, thereby wrecking his life.
Concurrent with this is the story of a small documentary maker, Cliff.
Actually, he is a failure, and forced to work for a rival, a highly successful one.
Both step down the path of transgression. One major, one petty.
I know a lot of Allen fans view this as one of his finest.
For me, this is the precursor to Match Point, which is my favorite Allen.

Sleuth - 1972 - 8/10

Brilliant adaptation of the Shaffer play.
Wife’s lover approaches the successful writer husband, asking if he will divorce her.
The old lion seems agreeable, but he is a game player.
He wants to keep his fortune away from one he views as a fortune hunter.
The young stud, well, all he wants is the trophy wife, right?
Then the games, the traps, the countermoves.
For a play, and this smacks of boards at times, this bristles with electricity.
Olivier is marvelous, yet Caine holds his own in this exceptional thriller.

Fairy Tale: A True Story - 1997 - 7/10

In 1917, two little girls manage to take photographs of actual woodland fairies.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle are among the believers, while friend Harry Houdini remains skeptical.
As the fame increases, sightseers flood in droves, followed by reporters.
Lushly photographed, with a keen period eye.
For non-Edwardian fans, there was almost a mania of Fairy sightings during that time.
Perhaps society was longing for a simpler, more innocent past, as the Great War crushed along.
Wistful tale and ideal family fare.

Kinpika - 2016 - 6/10
AKA - きんぴか

What do a yakuza enforcer, recently released from prison, a disgraced political aspirant, and a discharged combat soldier have in common?
Give up? Yeah, well, nothing.
Except a retired police commissioner puts the trio together, gives them swank digs, and lets them right wrongs.
Guts, muscles and brains. Age-old premise of the mismatched unit bonding.
Slick, stylish, empty headed.
At five episodes, this is worth a watch, streaming easily through into eyes and out the back of your skull.

Highlander II - 1991 - 5/10

One of the nuttier sequels I have watched.
In fact, after watching, few would have predicted a subsequent TV series, or the enduring popularity.
Connor MacLeod, now a frail elder, saved the Earth (and billions of ingrates) with some solar magnetic shield.
He’s waiting for the Reaper, until, outta nowhere, other Immortals appear and voilà! The quickening!
Oh yeah, that quickening thing. Shoulda put it in the title, except it is beyond stupid.
Quickening means MacLeod’s youth is restored so he can engage in more swordfights.
Sean Connery – why is he in this – plays a Spanish aristocrat.
The narrative is an insane jumble of concepts and lacks cohesion, as well as sense.
As if the headhunting cakewalk ever made sense.
Very bad film, atrocious. Guilty pleasure.

That guy with no name said:

please delte this tread

I looked up delte.
https://www.nationstates.net/nation=delte

This Island Earth - 1955 - 5/10

r

Aliens enlist unknowing Earth scientists to help in their eternal struggle with other aliens.
Talk, talk, talk, amidst spacious sets, and a slow moving giant potato bug.
Saw this as a kid, thought it was lame.
Saw it later in the 70’s, part of a 3D festival. Audience, and me, hopelessly stoned, all laughed.
Now … Why? Why did I watch again? Why do some consider this turkey a classic?
I did think of one thing: In any conflict between two advanced civilizations, DO NOT GET INVOLVED.
Whether on distant Metaluna, or an argument between China and Russia, keep far away.

The Rat Pack - 1998 - 6/10

Retelling of Sinatra and coterie at their final peak, early 60’s, before the British Invasion, before the Boomers began their cultural ascendancy.
This is all very Vegasy, with plenty of behind the scenes shenanigans to pleasure voyeurs.
Tittle tattle, rumors, gossip, stories that have been massaged over the ensuing decades.
Joe Montegna stands out as Dean Martin. (Talk at the time said he would get his own Martin biopic.)
Don Cheadle also memorable as a conflicted Sammy Davis Jr.
I suspect the less you know about this crew, the more you may enjoy.

The Mezzotint - 2021 - 7/10

Annual ghost story is several notches above recent outings.
Eerie, rather creepy, yet faithful adaptation of the M. R. James classic story.
Williams, college art curator cum connoisseur, accepts a peculiar print on approval.
The print, of limited artistic value, shows a manor house at moonlight.
That was initially, until the image started altering.
Colleagues and neighbors are baffled, and it strikes a dissonant chord.
Excellent method of hints, suggestion, the half-glimpsed, to evoke unease.
Leading to worse.

Framed - 1947 - 6/10

Paula spots him as soon as he enters the cafe.
Right height, weight, body size. The perfect double, the future patsy.
Paula, the blonde waitress, contacts her boyfriend, a banker, and they start the setup.

So-so Noir suffers from being underwritten, and half delivered.
Glenn Ford sleepwalks his role. To be fair, his character is nothing more than a once-mining engineer, now penniless drifter.
Barry Sullivan better as the cold and cynical banker.
Best is Janis Carter, who never climbed beyond B-roles.
Her Paula is an angelic faced fatale, her every single decision an opportunistic calculation.

With Beauty And Sorrow - 1965 - 7/10
AKA - Utsukushisa to kanashimi to // 美しさと哀しみと

Ōki had a fling with Otoko. He was married, with a son, she was sixteen.
Pregnancy, she lost the baby, then was institutionized for depression.
Fifteen years on, now a famous writer, he decides to visit.
Otoko is a renowned painter and teacher, with devoted clique of pupils.
One of whom, Keiko, is more than a pupil, but Otoko’s lover.
She also bristles that Ōki was never punished, never suffered, and decides to exact vengeance.

Understated psychological thriller simmers and is a tense study in motives and emotions.
The successful, dismissive male. The quashed soul who leads a quiet life, and her calculating, volcanic mate.
Wintry colors are subdued, matching the outward expressions.
The overt lesbian relationship is striking for 1965.

Jack The Ripper: The Definitive Story - 2011 - 6/10

Another Whitechapel documentary, only this one relies on facts and chronology rather than theories.
This proceeds from the earliest surmised murders to a handful following 1888.
Inspired visuals transform a modern street. Replacing halogen with gaslight, narrowing the streets, restoring the warehouses and tenements and pubs.
Those mix with historians explaining the times, as well as the killings, hour by hour, witnesses and press.
For those who have never been on one of those Ripper Walks, Whitechapel of today is a sterile environment.
Decent doc. I don’t watch many on the Ripper so I have no comparison.

1. What was being an 80s Star Wars fan like?

The great thrill was Empire Strikes Back, exceeding all expectations, and worth the lengthy waits in line. Followed by the disappointment that was Return Of Jedi.

3. Which technological developments excited you? Which didn’t excite you? What did you think was coming soon, but was actually far off?

Compact disc. The sound was wonderful. Or, at least, we all thought it was wonderful. After my first player, I upgraded my speakers.

Zelda and I married in ’78 and bounced around the States throughout the 80’s. Consequently, money was precious and we would be considered poor by today’s standards. There was less stigma, and no peer judging back then for being poor. Everyone our age struggled, it’s the way it was. Early 80’s we bought maybe one record album a month, late 80’s one CD a month. I grew our own reefer. Politically, there was a rising Conservative movement and real consequences if you were perceived as an “outsider”.

Pick and choose, the 80’s was a decent time for music, although MTV would have a corrosive influence. Artists focused more on a video presentation over songcraft. While there were styles (hair metal bands) and specific artists I enjoyed, overall I preferred the 60’s and 70’s era. To be fair, I still prefer the 90’s over the 80’s.

I suspect most of us who recall the 80’s are halfway to the graveyard.

SS-GB - 2017 - 7/10

Imaginative series presupposes the Nazi-Soviet Pact of 1939 was not broken.
The Wehrmacht sweeps through Europe, and the Luftwaffe overwhelms the RAF.
As the German Army occupies Britain, waiting to take control stands the SS.
After the Resistance murders an inconsequential black market dealer, Scotland Yard investigates.

The pacing is steady, a handful of threads coiling around the mystery.
Production detail is an overripe blend of tainted grandeur and full Noir.

For those who gave up on The Man In The High Castle series, this ought to be easier.
Five episodes, a constant narrative thrust, and a few good misdirects.
The Scotland Yard inspector strikes me more as an SD operative, perhaps by design.
While the finale is a trifle open-ended, this should satisfy most.

Ghost In The Shell: The Movie - 2015 - 6/10

Bit misleading title, “the movie” which the unwary might see as the ScarJo vehicle.
This falls after the “Arise” series and leads into the 1995 classic.
Major Kusanagi, Batou, most the of the squad embroiled with terror plots, assassinations, cyber-virus.
Always with this series, a fair amount of talking and philosophizing about the collective datastream.
Visuals are great, if now perhaps a little familiar.
The plot bounds along, often shifting scenes and gears abruptly.
Enjoyable, though choppy.
Not the best entry for newcomers. Best to start with the '95 original.

Cousin Bette - 1998 - 6/10

After her wealthy and connected sister dies, Bette hopes her in-laws will assist her.
Bette is a seamstress for the ever-disreputable theatre world, and money is precious.
As Bette befriends a talented, yet starving, sculptor, her greedy in-laws ignore her.
More betrayals, until Bette decides misery loves company.
Very black comedy here, of calculated retribution.
Bette, a methodical and callous antagonist, selects useful weapons to crush perceived enemies.
Feel-good seekers, move along. Those who prefer revenge cold, enjoy a bitter dish.

It Happened On Fifth Avenue - 1947 - 6/10

Above, Aloysius T. McKeever and loyal companion, resident of the O’Connor mansion on Fifth Avenue.
He is, what one might term, chronically unemployed, and a squatter.
The homeowner’s habits are known to him; a day after O’Connor heads South, McKeever enters.
This season, add a homeless ex-GI. Followed by a pair of buddies. With wives and children.
Plus, the rich owner’s daughter, who declines to appraise the others who she is.
Old fashioned romantic comedy is schmaltzy and overlong, borrowing a trope from My Man Godfrey.
The plight of unemployed servicemen also rings a chord, which fueled many a Noir.
While wishful sorts declare this a forgotten Christmas gem, it really isn’t.

Olga’s House Of Shame - 1964 - 5/10

Johnny Gordon brings in fresh meat for Olga’s organization.
Narcotics, prostitution, and now, jewel smuggling.
Hard the believe the empress of criminality is holed up in the backwoods in an abandoned mine or tipple.
The girls, hookers, chiselers, hustlers, are petty rebels, and Olga is a harsh mistress.
Brace for beatings, cheap tortures, and girls stripped to their garters and girdle
Grade D exploitation gets classy with classical scores (Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov).
Extensive voiceover narration holds this together, and it feels shots were cobbled together with duct tape.
Bad cinema fans, this is pretty slow. Like you care.

Subtitles = https://subscene.com/subtitles/olgas-house-of-shame/english/2965511

Hole - 1998 - 6/10
AKA - Dong // 洞

The infection has turned into an epidemic.
Whole neighborhoods are quarantined, then residents are ordered to leave.
Meanwhile, it rains, and it rains, and it rains.
The humidity overpowers, leaks develop, trickling from one floor to the next.
In this case, opening an ever widening hole.
Where upstairs and downstairs tenants begin looking at each other, wondering,
Much of the film is the banal existence in an emptying apartment building.

Highlights are musical interludes performed by Grace Chung.
Daydreams? Fantasies? Nothing is explained.

Galaxy Quest - 1999 - 7/10

“Never retreat, never surrender.”
Loving homage to interstellar TV, especially Star Trek.
Series canceled, careers stalled, ex-cast members earn a living on the convention circuit.
Until they are space-napped by the last surviving Thermians, driven to extinction by the dread Sarris.
What ensues is a gentle parody, and sheer comedy.
A fellow reviewer had attended an advance pre-screening and reported a lost edit.
Tony Shaloub’s Tech Sergeant Chen clearly huffing a small pipe, which informs his stoner behavior throughout.

(Note: This is prime for an edit, with deleted scenes reinserted.)