Vultural

V Efeket - 2024 - 6/10

Exciting Serbian series set among the theatre crowd.
The season opener gives those attending a prop malfunction.
The hanging sequence, well, someone sabotaged (lengthened) the support rope.
All the kicking and struggling by the heroic lead, no wonder it looked so realistic.
Police arrive, as do government agents, since a shady minister owns the building.
And the building used to be over a clandestine government agency.
Cops soon have a series of murders, and suspects, actors, who are trained to lie convincingly.

I believe this is a very good show. HOWEVER. The version I viewed had “Whisper” subtitles.
Those were atrociously bad. A character’s gender was mixed, often thrice in a sentence.
Long patches of dialogue missed subs altogether. Descriptive words were not remotely accurate.
A I in this case means Artificial Ignorance / Ineptitude / Incompetence.
“Whisper” CANNOT, at this time, decipher Serbian.
Unless you are a native speaker, avoid and wait for proper subtitles.

Closet Land - 1991 - 6/10

The female has been apprehended by the secret police, and turned over to an interrogator.
She is a writer of innocent children’s stories, so surely this is a mistake.
Claustrophobic, Kafka shrouded film feels very much like a two-act play.
Sexual tension pulses throughout. Revelations about State surveillance comes as no surprise.
Acting is fine, although the dialogue is heavy handed, the themes obvious.
Preachy film grows more tiresome as the viewing clock ticks

Eat Me, Baby - 2023 - 5/10

Provocative title aside, this short is neither a romantic adult foodie yarn, nor configuration #4.
The date went OK. Dinner, dancing. Emma even brought Lester to her apartment.
She leaves to change, he’s rounding second base, yet decides to spike her drink.
Any guy could have warned him: girls have eyes in the back of their heads.
Oh, the ensuing unhappiness.

Prince Valiant - 1954 - 6/10

Game attempt to adapt Hal Foster’s long running Sunday strip.
Technicolor, CinemaScope, location filming in England, hundreds of extras.
Though ten years too late, this evokes those splashy epics of the 1940’s.
Visually, this is beautiful. Storywise, this based on a comic, so that is simplistic.
Acting is problematic, for every James Mason (who steals the film) there is Sterling Hayward as Sir Gawaine (?).
The biggest shortcoming is Robert Wagner in the title role. He seems uneasy and uncertain throughout.
Watch for the scenery, costumes and action; overlook those miscast.

Nordland ‘99 - 2022 - 7/10

Alex tries to mend things with an ex-girlfriend. Her current, drug-pushing boyfriend disagrees.
By the end of the episode, Alex has vanished and suspicion swirls in the Denmark village.
Local cops are disinterested, even though he is the second teen to mysteriously disappear.
Who starts searching? His gun-toting sister, and his friends.

Into the illicit drug world, into rural backwoods, broken down cabins, secret lives.
Slow boil thriller has a brooding launch, then grows progressively darker.
Eight half-hour episodes. Don’t be put off, this is not aimed for ADHD teens.

Mr Holland’s Opus - 1995 - 5/10

Classical composer (in his daydreams only) winds up being a high school teacher.
Soon finds out being a teacher leaves no time to work on his masterpieces.
Instead, he touches children, helps them along the great path of Life.
Feel-good material goes repeatedly into schmaltz.
First chair performers in high school or college band will eat this up.
Those of us who could barely play our instrument will relive old agonies.
Sentimental piffle.

Tweddell, Benjamin - Trackless Paths

Almost shameful how this striking author has been overlooked.
Then again, most of his works seem to have been with a minuscule press that sold to a handful, or to secondary resellers.
Tweddell is a masterful storyteller, mingling histories, myth and whispers, always in fine prose.

“A Crown Of Dusk And Sorrow” makes for a heady opener. Daniel had relocated to Quorts Moor following a visual epiphany; a sighting, an experience that left him thunderstruck. Alas, no matter how hard he tried, the frisson never repeated. Until the encounter with Silas, who soon leads him beyond, high beyond, to Woden’s Barrow, where Daniel is gifted with the curse of second sight.

Jacob, gradually losing his vision, isolates himself in a remote cottage. His nearest neighbor, across a deceptive creek, is Julius, a Catholic shunned by local folk. Julius had likewise gone blind earlier, only to have his sight miraculously return. The chapel, the shrine, the holy relic, are all used in a tale, steeped in faith and doubt, “The Veneration At Polwheveral Manor”.

Another lonely chapel, this one deep in the fens, irresistibly beckons Henry in “The Salix Arcanum”. Henry, trying to recover from a broken relationship has sought artistic refuge in rural oblivion. The small church, now abandoned, may have pagan origins. Locals, from simple stock to the vicar, try to caution Henry, appeal to his reason. And yet –

The collection concludes with “The Place Of Remaking”. Three childhood friends, aging member of the Kindred of the Kibbo Kift, reconvene at the bygone home. Bloodied by war, carnage, and too much death, the men are soured, cynical. Nevertheless, the tale is one of redemption and reawakening.

What The Butler Saw - 1987 - 7/10

Geraldine applies for a secretary position, but Doctor Prentice requests she strip nude.
Her clothes disappear once his wife appears, followed by the bellboy who had earlier tried to rape the wife.
Also showing up is a medical inspector, Dr. Rance, who is completely mad.
Keeping up? That’s the opening ten minute salvo in a riotous Joe Orton comedy.
Laced with more sexual innuendo than a keg-fueled party.
Dialogue is witty, extraordinarily intelligent, and delivered breathlessly.
A live theatre performance is best, yet the cast here is glorious.

Pickup On South Street - 1953 - 7/10

Candy is just supposed to deliver an envelope.
Doesn’t know what it contains, doesn’t care.
Doesn’t even know Federal agents are watching her.
One even sees her purse get pickpocketed long before she is aware.
Three time loser Skip is identified, but he refuses to cooperate.
If the Feds want it so bad, someone will be willing to pay large.
Tough Noir packed with thick skinned types. Richard Widmark leads, and he never bends so much as an inch. Even when you assume he is about soften, the cynical calculation emerges.
Thelma Ritter heartbreaking as the downtrodden, world weary Moe.

The Business - 2004 - 6/10

Frankie is handed a courier assignment, carrying a package to Spain.
Deliver to “wanted by British authorities” Charlie, owner of a trendy nightclub.
Charlie takes a shine to the lad, hires him as a driver, and soon enough he meets the gang.
Including the ferocious, murderous Sammy, the planner of the crew.
For Frankie, it’s sex, drugs and plenty of sunshine.
Fast moving spree revels in the heady 1980’s, the brash era of cocaine.
Propulsive soundtrack lays down hit after hit.

Satanic Hispanics - 2022 - 6/10

After a blazing entry, El Paso police find a nest of trafficked dead.
Along with a lone survivor, who repeatedly warns, “You are running out of time.”
And he shares a series of tales. Misplaced magic, even vampires.

Consider, Halloween night, and the old geezer you ridicule, until the fangs are bared.
He has been around for centuries, but Daylight Savings Time still befuddles him.
Funny, bloody, barbed dialogue.

Or folk horror, atavistic rituals, scoffed at.
Leave home at your peril, however.

Then there are those annoying turistas, forever spying on forbidden rites.
Perhaps even video taping those, launching gruesome consequences.
Anthology series hits more than misses. Nothing more than B-movies, but funny and good with brews.

Soft Shoes - 1925 - 6/10

Sheriff Pat, rancher out in west Texas, inherits and has to mosey to sin-city, San Francisco.
There, he encounters a cat burglar, Faith, and is soon embroiled in all sorts of mischief.
Action moves fairly well, the comedy is broad, with sly innuendo.
Writer / star Harry Carey is crowding 50 (he ain’t no Tom Mix). He shows a flair for humor, yet his is still too old for the role, especially in any romantic scenes.
Current print has been wonderfully restored and tinted. Old time Bay residents might view with nostalgia.

From Beyond - 2023 - 7/10

Extraterrestrials arrive on Earth. Accident, scouting, invasion?
Perspectives move from human observers to alien point of view.
Of course, know-it-all humans begin laboratory experiments.
While others, perhaps emulating Captain Kirk, share intimate relations with the newcomers.
Then, almost overnight, these new things seem to be overrunning the planet.
SciFi short from Norway blends found footage, newsreels, interviews, and is a mix of unexpected and bizarre.

The Reckoning - 2023 - 7/10

The rise of Jimmy Saville from local DJ to national icon.
Along the way, “Top Of The Pops” and “Jim’ll Fix It”.
Relentless charity work leads to knighthood, meeting royals, meeting the Pope.
Yet behind the crowd pleasing funster lurks a darker soul.
One with an appetite for young girls, for children.
Cloaked behind fame.
Steve Coogan charismatic and frightening, superb job.

Zontar: The Thing From Venus - 1967 - 3/10

Our alien offers to come to Earth and help solve humanity’s problems.
(Just like politicians, tyrants, megalomaniacs, martinets, from Biblical times onward.)
Fortunately, for Zoltar, it reaches out to the one “scientist” gullible enough to believe a Venusian telemarketer.
In no time flat, our three-eyed, bat-winged, Cthulhu wannabe holes up in a cave and begins global domination.
Bad film, bad acting, ripoff script, and the characters are beyond stupid!
Connoisseurs of trash cinema, this is one dingy brown pile.

To Have And Have Not - 1944 - 7/10

Ex-pat fisherman rents his boat out to US swells who could only land a fish in a grocery.
Set in WWII Martinique, France has fallen and the Caribbean colony comes under Nazi control.
Fishing gives way to smuggling, trafficking souls barely one step ahead of the Gestapo.
Then there’s a penniless female, stranded, as it were, on an island paradise.
Fast paced Noir boats electric chemistry between Bogart and Bacall, and bristling dialogue.
Bacall sings, Hoagy Carmichael plays piano.

If you desire further adventures (similar), check out the OTR “Bold Venture”.
https://archive.org/details/BoldVenture57Episodes

Alex Edelman: Just For Us - 2024 - 7/10

“I don’t know if any of you grew up in a home like this. We were never allowed in our living room.
Never. The living room is for guests and tragedies. And every piece of furniture is covered in plastic…”
Standup comedian shares painful wisdom, and a long story of going to a White Nationalist party in Queens.
Edelman is consistently funny. The jokes, the punchlines, land and land and land.
This is NOT hit n miss. This is a terrific performance.
Captured during a sold out run.
As one would say, can you believe it?
English subtitles = https://subdl.com/subtitle/sd1672290/alex-edelman-just-for-us/english

Fiend Without A Face - 1958 - 6/10

US military base (in Canada?) experiments with radar and telekinesis.
Before you can wonder what could go wrong, an invisible “entity” starts killing.
Victims have their gray cells sucked out, brains and spinal cords.
Soldiers are hapless, the base is overrun!
Once exposed, the creatures are laughable and creepy, a weakness of the film.
Especially for young viewers who imagined them to be under the bed or in the closet.
Or teenagers at the drive-in, aware death is everywhere so they better get busy now.
Not one of those so-bad-it’s-good films, but creative yet underwhelming.

Chesher, Deborah - Everybody I Shot Is Dead

Narrow focused book will likely appeal to select audience.
Chesher was a concert photographer, very active in the 1970’s.
This coffee-table sized book is packed with images of musicians, who, by 2007, had died.
One might think macabre, but this is not. More of personal remembrances.
Brief bios, a fragment of memory, a flash of personality.

Hollywood Fats, for example. Phenomenal blues guitarist who never broke big.

John Fahey, late in life, impoverished, on medication, needing anyone could help.

Jane Vasey and Tony Flaim, both from the Downchild Blues Band.

Badfinger, that poor group, represented three times.

Papa John Creach, onstage or backstage, ever stylish.

For as wild, excessive and hedonistic as the 70’s were, surprisingly this is not wall to wall overdoses.
Enjoyable, if you know the period, know the music.
Chesher, while one suspects knows more stories, refrains from dishing dirt. She also remembers those who helped her out along her path. Classy.

Klara’s Box - 2024 - 5/10

Workday dawn, Klara wakes in her car after another night in her car.
At the cafe, she asks for coffee. Instead, she is offered job.
“Just deliver a package. Quick, simple.”
Until, midway through her “assignment”, a helpful soul appears to render free advice.
Toxic short of lies, half-truths, deceptions, in talky thriller.
Resolution = punt.

Annie Hall - 1977 - 8/10

Through a series of flashbacks, Alvy tries to grasp how his romance with Annie collapsed.
City boy, small town girl new to the city, there is a Pygmalion element.
Childhoods differ vastly, as do outlooks and expectations.
Even the way they view each other, and worry how they are perceived.
Marvelous sequences break the fourth wall, especially with surprise cameos.
Gordon Willis cinematography elevates this from all preceding Allen works.
This is where Allen lost many old fans, expecting more silly farces.
A romantic comedy, wise and bittersweet, for adults.

Skylight - 2014 - 7/10

Three years after she walked out of her second family, Kyra receives two visitors.
Wayward son Edward, starting his gap year, asking why she left those years before.
“Think,” Kyra says. “Just think.”
Then, after Edward departs, the father, Tom, attempting, awkwardly, a pained reconciliation.
Searing performances from Bill Nighy and Carey Mulligan of a broken relationship.
Funny, excruciating, contrasting spiraling greed and self-reformation.
Restaurateur Tom made his pile when Kyra was his right hand.
Now, both older, wisdom is a bitter tonic.
Main quibble for me, in an otherwise exceptional play, is the age discrepancy.
Supposedly 15 years apart, they look 30, perhaps 40, years apart.
English subtitles = https://subscene.com/subtitles/national-theater-live-skylight/english/3331454

Western Front - 1999 - 7/10

Excellent, if limited documentary on the Western Front of the Great War.
This really focuses on strategies, key battles, and blunders.
High command, English and French, is shown as especially incompetent.
Millions of lives squandered while officers sipped tea in chateaus.
A couple of lingering survivors, each in their 90’s, shared memories.
Richard Holmes, military historian for Cranfield University, walks old battlefields, while presenting a digest of the war.

All You Need Is Death - 2023 - 6/10

Anna and Aleks freelance, scouring Ireland for obscure folk ballads.
Their patron / boss / tutor Agnes particularly covets songs that are completely unknown.
They hear of one, passed from one female down to the next, in a remote village.
There, Rita sings Anna the song, not Aleks, for no man has ever listened to it.

The song has been passed, but a promise has been broken.
From there, death and the long hunt for the culprits.
Imaginative tale of a cursed song, akin to a forbidden phrase or image.
Pagan sequences from time to time provide a distant history.
I was absorbed throughout. The ending was an utter fail for me, however.
Felt like the “writer/director/producer” paid crowd service to genre Horror fans.

Confessions Of Boston Blackie - 1941 - 6/10

A counterfeit statue, an auction gone awry, exchange of bullets, a death.
Who is in attendance? Inspector Farraday. And who does he suspect?
As always, brisk B-film, packed with action and banter.
In this, Blackie’s “ex” surfaces, to shake him down for money.
Otherwise, Runt and George Manleder return to give Blackie inadequate assistance.
Formula fun. If you missed something, you didn’t miss much.