Vultural

The Master And Margarita - 2024 - 7/10
AKA - Mастер и Mаргарита

Sprawling adaptation of Bulgakov’s novel.
The writer suffers a bad week. His play on Pilate is canceled. Then he is kicked from the writer’s guild.
Girlfriend Margarita, mistress / muse, his only faithful ally, encourages him to write a novel.
In it, Woland, the Devil, comes to Moscow to expose the hypocrisy of the literati.
Since the CCCP is an atheistic society, they should not believe in God nor the Devil.
But lo, the machinations of evil run wild with laughable results.
The writer, meanwhile, begins to mix fiction with his own situation (not uncommon, I fear).
Heady cinema, with multiple layers.
Surprised this was made during the current Russian government.

The Saint In London - 1939 - 6/10

Templar is approached by a government friend and asked to investigate one Mr Lang.
Soon turns out Lang has his hands in all sorts of nasty pies.
Early on, Simon (suave George Sanders) hires a valet whose last place of residence was San Quentin.
Also a female admirer, determined to help.
Unlike a lot of private eye flicks, Templar here relies on his support team (who are not mere comic relief).
The police likewise are pretty sharp, as are the villains, especially Mr Lang.

The Vampire Of Düsseldorf - 1965 - 6/10
AKA - Le Vampire de Düsseldorf

There is a serial killer prowling the streets, so the young ladies feel safe with a handsome escort.
Except, after one is safely home, he asks the other female to go to the midnight park.
Where, it turns out, he suffers deadly impulses, and carries a knife.
He is also a steady regular at the Eldorado cabaret, where the sexy Anna arouses his desire.

Based on Peter Kürten, this well captures the shaky Weimar era.
Seedy clubs, economic and political strife, casual violence from the SA.
One establishment featured numbered table phones for assignations (similar to Berlin’s Resi).
Moody cinema, with a mannered performance by Robert Hossein that may not suit all tastes.

Isztambul - 2011 - 6/10

“Our marriage was not working anyway,” says Professor János.
After he moved out and shacked up with a 20-year-old student.
Abandoned wife Katalin suffers a breakdown, then hitches a ride out of Budapest.
Eventually, makes her way to Istanbul, where she rents a cheap room and settles herself.
Character study of someone trying to regain equilibrium in a change of environment.
For those seeking travel porn, Budapest is barely shown, and Istanbul locations avoid tourist spots.
Quiet film that, refreshingly, makes a lot of unexpected turns.

Boston Blackie And The Law - 1946 - 5/10

During Blackie’s annual Thanksgiving magic show inside the woman’s prison, an escape occurs!
Of course, ex-con Blackie is suspected and taken downtown by the police.
He must free himself, find the missing felon, and figure out the reason why she jumped months before her parole.
As always, Chester Morris charms his way along, and even sidekick Runt has a beefy role.
Police, however, are reincarnated Keystone Kops. Not 10 IQ points between the lot.
They exist for comedy only, and moronic comedy at that.
Not one of the better examples of this series.

Yours Unfaithfully - 2016 - 6/10

The picture perfect marriage, Stephen and Anne, are envied, and in a rut.
He suffers writers block, for which his wife suggests he have a fling with her friend, Diana.
Very modern, downright continental, except as the affair lengthens, jealousy grows.
Brittle table comedy comes across as arch at times, sophisticates uncomfortable with feelings.
Both females display close lipped, “polite” smiles.
Performers seem self-conscious throughout.
English subtitles = https://subsource.net/subtitle/yours-unfaithfully-2021/english/10169884

Between Land And Sea - 2016 - 6/10

Lahinch, County Clare, Ireland. The intrepid leap into the surf from the rocky shoals.
The ride back, approaching cliffs and boulders will require skill.
Surfing community in Ireland has grown and this doc examines a lot of players.
Several men, now with families, realize their time on big waves is closing.
Shot over a few years, we watch child Nora go from toddler to attending school.
This goes deeper than most surf porn, the interviewees (except one) more thoughtful.

Flying Saucers Over Hollywood: The ‘Plan 9’ Companion - 1992 - 6/10

Labor of love documentary / celebration of Ed Wood’s monsterpiece.
Sure, it reminds one of a fan doc, yet be thankful participants were interviewed before they were gone.
Locations are visited, including the derelict Quality Studio, cemetery, Tor’s house.
Better organized than any film Wood made, yet this is still sporadic and meandering.
Over and over, the focus wanders away from Plan 9 onto players or oddball interviewees.
Perhaps little new for obsessives who have read or researched all matters Wood.
Breezy, informative, wistful to see and hear Maila (Vampira), Gregory, Conrad, shoot, even Valda.

Plan 9 From Outer Space - 1957 - 4/10

What an enjoyable disaster.
Aliens revive the recent dead to show stupid, stupid Earthlings who’s going to call the shots.
Mind you, they reckon not with hot-tempered fists.
Cheap sets, inept SFX, poor dialogue, bad acting, mindless editing, no narrative.
I rewatch periodically with fondness, as I realize this was a game attempt by one with limited talent.
Hardly the worst film, in that it is never boring. Confused, yes.
Give me a bad film with heart over formula dreck any day of the week.

Ed Wood - 1994 - 6/10

Career? What career? Even by Poverty-Row standards, Wood’s product was dismal.
Even indie studios have zero interest. Besides, a cross-dressing film?
Doris Wishman, Russ Meyer, they never did those. Besides, their films made money!
Nevertheless, Wood’s fountain of optimism acquires a coterie including Tor, Bela, Dolores, Lyle.
At his lowest, inspired (encouraged?) by Orson Welles, young Ed forges ahead with Plan 9.
One watches this for the amazing performances (Depp, Landau, Arquette) and sympathetic direction.
The inaccuracies are well known, but it’s hard it dislike the intent here.
It would have been easy to ridicule Wood, his output, his friends.
This never does that.

Various (Editor: Beech, Mark) - Ornithologiae

Of or pertaining to the study / observation of birds.
Another eclectic, imaginative assortment from Egaeus.

“Aberration And Essence” displays the mania of bird watchers, the obsessives forever hunting for a rare species, perhaps a new breed. Firsthand, I have witnessed a few trespass my own property.

A switched bird, akin to the cuckoo, occurs in “Ravenbaby” leading the family to a wise woman.

Mila was an outsider, unaccustomed to the ways of Leonard’s family, not least the Thanksgiving traditions, and the traditions of sharing with the departed. “The Spirit Plate” was just that, and meant for those.

Who killed cock robin? Why the sparrow, of course. “Being A True Account Of The Death And Burial Of Poor Cock Robin” brings forth all manner of witnesses in the singular courthouse. Oh, the versions we hear, and the parade of untrustworthy narrators.

Edward, with his bad heart and pills, moved to the remote village to rest, work on his painting. There was a girl there, strange creature, Edelina, tall, slim, innocent, not so innocent. “Oileán na nÉan” draws us into the transgressive nature of Edward’s muse, with a whispered backstory.

He thought it was a purse, it looked like a purse. There would be money, and Chess, homeless flotsam, was freezing to death. Only it was not a curse. “The Leather Cormorant” was more a curse.

A sweeping variety of stories, settings and themes. Loads of engravings. For the receptive, poetry.
As of 2025, still in print from the publisher.

Red Skelton Hour - 1954 - 5/10

Specifically “Dial B For Brush” season three finale with Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr, and Vampira.
Red, dimwitted door-to-door brush salesman, knocks at the home of a mad scientist.
Dr. Lugosi, along with his half brother, who is half werewolf.
The scientist needs an empty brain for a muddled experiment.
Wasp-waist Vampira plays the drop-dead femme interested in a quickie canoodle.
Of course this is ridiculously silly, yet Bela seems to be enjoying himself.
Red must have known how prickly Lugosi was about ad-lib and improvisation.

The Lathe Of Heaven - 1980 - 7/10

Akin to the “The Monkey’s Paw”. In a future time, highly overpopulated, George suffers dreams.
Only his dreams alter reality.
His psychiatrist, Dr. Haber, something between a meddler and a martinet, exploits this.
Remake society, build a better world.
Except there are always flaws in improvements.
Heady, intellectual SciFi (SpecFi, actually) has minimal budget but far-reaching concepts.
Some locations were the same as those in Logan’s Run.

Breakfast:
Toast (wheat)
Bowl of chopped fruit
Banana
Pot of tea

Secrets Of A Secretary - 1931 - 6/10

On a drunken whim, heiress Helen marries caddish Frank, disowned by his family.
Abruptly, her father dies and Helen discovers the Crash had left him – and her – penniless.
So, she takes a job as social secretary (AKA - personal assistant) to a wealthy family.
Where she soon attracts a Lord, and finds racketeers in the background.
Pre-Code potboiler enhanced with a young Claudette Colbert and the mellifluous Herbert Marshall.
Depression romantic froth, elements might have contributed to My Man Godfrey (1936).

After Love - 2020 - 6/10

Ahmed comes home, sits down in the chair to relax, then slips into the afterlife.
Later on, wife Mary comes across bits of evidence. That her husband was a cheater, with another life in France.
She catches the ferry and travels to Marseilles, where things get complicated.
Quiet film of multiple betrayals. Also denial and curiosity.
Joanna Scanlan and Nathalie Richard carry the weight.
One, grieving and angry, the other angry because Ahmed has not arrived to help her relocate.
Dialogue is minimal. Instead, we watch characters react, think, try to understand.

Asakusa Kid - 2021 - 7/10
AKA - Asakusa Kiddo // 浅草キッド

Early 1970’s, young Takeshi Kitano starts working at the failing France-Za club in Asakusa.
He’s there to learn from Fukami, one of comedy’s kings.
Time has moved away from his skits, however, replaced by manzai (straight man / funny man duos).
The closest I can categorize France-Za club is burlesque. Striptease, skits, jokes, songs.
Fukami Senzaburo’s narrative is every bit as compelling as Kitano’s.
For Westerners, us who mostly know Kitano through his cinema, this is a revealing look at his comedy.
Also, a loving look back at the passing of an age.
Do yourself a favor, avoid dubbed, learn to read subs.

Golden Years - 2022 - 6/10
AKA - Die Goldenen Jahre

Aged 65, Peter is handed his retirement balloon and shown the door.
At home, wife Alice is now ready to live! Travel, meet people, go!
While Peter just wants to stay home. Fact is, they no longer have much in common.
They board a Mediterranean cruise, where the marriage begins to shred.
Bittersweet comedy of the unpredictable second act.
Divergent expectations, plans for the future, and basic incompatibility.
Surprising turns help this, as well as local color in the ports of call.
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3363480

Get Your Man - 1927 - 6/10

Mere children, young Robert and infant Simone are betrothed by their fathers.
17 years later, Robert is wandering Paris and keeps bumping into heiress Nancy.
“It must be Fate!” she finally exclaims.
He is engaged, honor is at stake, yet she determines to break that, and have him.
Breezy RomCom is a mere showpiece for Clara Bow.
She is on fire in this, flirting shamelessly with the camera, expressive, effervescent.
Missing reels are filled with inter-titles and still photos.

Playing Nice - 2025 - 6/10

Whoops. Two years on, the hospital discovers two boys had been switched at birth.
Parents notified, and the couples amicably opt for status quo with visitation rights.
Except the wealthier dad quietly maneuvers to acquire sole custody of both.
He has money, patience, and the charm of the solid citizen.
Didn’t take me long to start disliking this short series.
One character is a manipulative villain, the other is a mindless rube with a flash temper.
In the long run, neither one will be good for those kids. Especially as they grow older.
Twaddle. Most know how this would play out in the real world.

Bis Zum Letzten Tropfen - 2022 - 6/10
AKA - Until The Last Drop

International conglomerate Aqua Pura arrives in tiny village Lauterbronn with a pitch.
You have mass reserves of underground water. How about selling? Create jobs?
Alas, for the residents, their mayor is an uninformed, unable to learn, dunce.
Even when family members and friends urge him to “read about this company, see what they have done!”
He relies on government officials, ignores drought, climate change.
The narrative is a foregone nightmare.

I warbled at this pompous suit throughout. Years ago, our region witnessed the invasion of frakkers.
Communities were misled, frakking companies refused to disclose chemicals pumped down, or how the aquifer will be safeguarded. When water is contaminated, who will remedy it?
Never sell your water. Leash your politicians; they promise everything, but are weak and greedy.

Ladies Of The Jury - 1932 - 6/10

Long, long before Twelve Angry Men there was this gem.
The elderly rich man has been murdered. Allegedly by his trophy bride.
Who was an ex-chorus girl, and she is French!
Two strikes and the jury has made up its mind … save for one well-heeled biddy.
Edna May Oliver is almost insufferable at the beginning, but her character settles down.
There is a jury panel, lawyers, judge, bailiff, witnesses, and by the end one has a quick sketch of personalities.
Pre-Code comedy is barely an hour, but is packed with details, jokes, innuendo.

Rachel Getting Married - 2008 - 6/10

Yes, it is her big day, but troubled sister Kym is draining all the energy, accidentally or accidentally on purpose.
Kym is out of rehab for years of substance abuse. Self-destructive and a chronic liar.
Everyone blames her for the death of a relative.
Family conflict, with a provocative black sheep who garners no sympathy from family or viewers.
The usually perky Anne Hathaway is simply wonderful as the toxic disease on two legs.
Anyone who has witnessed or participated in baggage loaded nuptials, rehearsals, receptions will recognize.
Planning to marry soon? Yours could be similar. Reluctant attendees = Destination Wedding.

The German - 2025 - 6/10

Uri and Anna have been married and at the kibbutz for 25 years.
Son Eitan primed to join the air force, daughter Tamar to graduate university.
Uni, developer of a new irrigation process, needs to fly to Germany to seal the deal.
Compounding matters, Mossad asks Uri to deliver a small packet.
Germany, where horrible memories and an uneasy past lurk near the surface.
Where the recipient, an ex-Nazi, perceives something in Uri.
Mossad is delighted and Uri is pulled deeper into darkness and away from the kibbutz.
What follows is a high-strung thriller that buckled at the end.
The finale is truncated. Either producers could not find an ending, or opted for season 2.
I found the overall conceit completely implausible.

The Protectors - 1972 - 6/10

Ever wonder what happens to old spies, those who retire?
For example, Napoleon Solo, post his stint with U.N.C.L.E.
He might freelance. Provide protection, surveillance, conveyance.
Join forces with an Italian countess and a suave French operative.
At half an hour each, episodes hurry along.
Do not expect character development or much narrative track.

Nyree Dawn Porter, the Countess, had been approached by The Avengers.
Reluctant to follow Emma Peel, she wisely declined, and her character hews closer to Cathy Gale.
Fun series, lacking greatness, but action packed, spectacular locations, and an irresistible theme song.