Luck Key - 2016 - S Korea

Luck Key - 2016 - 6/10
AKA - Leokki  //  럭키

 
Polished Korean hitman has an accident and suffers amnesia.
A young, shiftless indebted actor seizes the opportunity and switches identity papers.
Gradually, he realizes the noose he has put himself into.
The better - funnier - story follows the assassin who thinks he is an actor.
He has the superior work ethic, but he is a clueless actor, nonetheless.
Until he is cast in a crime drama where his ingrained skills rise to the fore.
Viewers do not need to be familiar with K-dramas to laugh at this.
Be warned, since this does spoof K-dramas, there will be romance.
But no tears - rejoice!

Love Sarah - 2020 - UK

Love Sarah - 2020 - 6/10

 
After Sarah dies, her “almost” business partner, daughter, and estranged mother decide to fulfill her dream and open a bakery.
Yes, a how-to movie.
Expect grief, romance, dramatics, confessions, secrets, money woes, gritty determination.
Will the bakery open, let alone succeed?
Predictable formula, though that does not mean this is a bad watch.
One evening, when you are hungry for feel-good, this might suffice.

Arbitrage - 2012 - USA

Arbitrage - 2012 - 7/10

 
Another of those heavily nominated Academy films that ...
Wait a minute.  Arbitrage didn't get nominated for jack!
Not even Richard Gere, who gave another performance of a lifetime as a wheeler dealer, money hustler navigating a series of business negotiations, moral crises, police investigations, etc ...
This is right up there with Margin Call in the financial chicanery films.
Intelligent alternative when you need a break from all those teen slasher and TnA romps.

Hatchet For The Honeymoon - 1970 - Italy

Hatchet For The Honeymoon - 1970 - 6/10
AKA - Il Rosso Segno Della Follia

 
Beautiful girls are killed on the eve of their honeymoon, or on their honeymoon!
No mystery about the culprit, as we watch fashion designer John do the deeds.
The mystery is why he does the deeds.
Typical of Giallo, the sets and costumes are gorgeous, as are most of the players.
The pace is sluggish, though the narrative is coherent.
John’s home is stupendous!  Vast rooms, grand staircases, huge entryways.
My favorite room was packed with mannequins, all dressed in bridal attire.
Not a first choice for Giallo, but should satisfy fans of the genre. 

Flames Of Love - 1967

Flames Of Love - 1967 - 7/10
AKA - Jôen // The Affair // 情炎

 
Moody drama of young woman chastising her widowed mother’s scandalous behavior.
Her mother led affairs with lower class men, took to drink, and was run over by a truck.
Now the daughter, unhappily married, sees a similar path, darkly beckoning, in comparison with her faithless, businessman husband and meaningless home life.
A slow film, with compositions immaculate and imaginative. 
Fascinating to watch her question those around her, and in so doing, question herself.
Her choices are extremely limited, and no matter how open minded men declare themselves, few are.
Arresting sound mix, as well.  A perky instrumental balanced with stark silence or musique concrète.

The Ax - 2005 - France

The Ax - 2005 - 7/10
AKA - Le Couperet

 
Nifty French thriller.
Chemist loses his job to downsizing and outsourcing.
After two years, he remains unemployed.
He determines who his likely competitors are and decides to winnow the field.
Very black comedy grows grimmer and darker.
Based on Donald Westlake's “The Ax.”
Themes, far ahead of their time, still resonate today.
Especially if your job search isn’t going so well.

Amulet - 2020

Amulet - 2020 - 5/10

 
Border guard commits misdeeds during Balkans conflict.
Jump forward, and he works build sites as (possibly) illegal worker.
Until he is offered room and board at a fixer-upper house, occupied by dying mother and her daughter.
Soon, he has concerns about the locked attic and dangerous incidents.  Does he flee?
Artsy horror film is portentous and ponderous.  And slow.
Rather than thoughtful, the pacing felt like padding.
The “amulet” itself was a shoehorned element, as it had scant bearing on the plot.
Too bad.  There are decent concepts here, yet the result is muddled.

A Wedding - 2016

A Wedding - 2016 - 7/10
AKA - Noces

 
Uncomfortable story of relocated Pakistani family living in France.
The 18 year old daughter ponders an abortion.  Waffles and procrastinates.
After she makes a decision, the family concludes she needs to marry.
Living in France, she is becoming too Western.
She is given three photos of Pakistani males and told to choose.
Again, she procrastinates, only this time the screws bear down.
You root for her because she has spirit and joie de vivre, but family pressure is agonizing.
Though opening credits state,  “Inspired by true events,”
much of the story seemed to evoke "Madame Bovary."

Labyrinth - 2012 - Germany

Labyrinth - 2012 - 5/10

 
Treating this two part series as a movie.
Produced by Ridley and Tony Scott, which is what drew my interest.
Dual narratives of present day and 13th century France, where the Crusaders tackle a Cathar sect.
Nice production values for the earlier era, poor casting for the modern.
Based on a best-selling novel (book received wildly mixed reviews) about the Holy Grail, intolerance, church intrigue.  Violent, bloody, sexy.
First part held my interest throughout.  Second half, I blame the author.
Stories stretched to the point of silliness, and seemed targeted for YA readers.
Possibly 13 year old female readers.  Based on female leads consistent reactions, very gullible female readers.
Scoring the parts:  Pt 1 = 6, Part 2 = 4.

Impetigore - 2019 - Indonesia

Impetigore - 2019 - 6/10
AKA - Perempuan Tanah Jahanam

 
Maya is stalked, then while working at the toll booth, she is assaulted.
Wielding a machete, the man apologizes,  “I’m sorry, but you curse our village.  I must kill you.”
“I don’t know you!”  she screams.  “I never heard of your village!”
Fortunately, police arrive and the would-be assassin is shot dead.
So what would you do?  Go to a remote, isolated village where everyone wants your life?
That’s what Maya does, seeking answers.

Another fine Joko Anwar film.  This is shot during late afternoon and night.
The mood stays grim and foreboding throughout.  The cinematography in this, as in other Anwar films I have viewed, is well thought out and imaginative.
The plot is somewhat rehashed, but the style is mesmerizing.
For those who adored Hong Kong cinema (before Chinese censors and mainstream audiences diluted it), check out this director.

American Pastoral - 2016

American Pastoral - 2016 - 4/10

 
Overwrought, over-acted, out of date yarn of girl who turns radical in the 60's, then goes underground.
Wait, no, the story is really about the father (Ewan McGregor) who spends his time (life) hunting for his daughter.
He is below amateur in this, by the way, committing mistakes, making terrible judgment errors.
Then again, there is the crumbling of his middle class, white bread marriage (to Jennifer Connelly).
Some of the scenes that might have been provocative in 1975 are laughable today.
Heavy handed downer of Roth’s  critique of the social veneer.

84 Charing Cross Road - 1987

84 Charing Cross Road - 1987 - 7/10

 
Love letter to readers and book collectors.
Based on the correspondence between New Yorker Helene Hanff and the staff of Marks & Co (especially Frank Doel) in London.
Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins well cast.
Film has nice feel for the post war rationing and hardships in England.
The era of acquiring fine, leatherbound classics (albeit secondhand) for £1 4s 6d is gone, gone, gone.
Meanwhile. the current era indicates actual, physical books are fading as well.
Quiet film, worth viewing if you have not seen it.

In the early 80's, bookshops were still plentiful along Charing Cross.
Sadly, there are fewer now.

Gadjo Dilo - 1998

Gadjo Dilo - 1998 - 6/10
AKA - The Crazy Stranger

 
Young French man wanders the Romanian countryside, cassette Walkman in his pack.
He seeks Nora Luca, gypsy folk singer, all but unknown in the west.
Colorful story throws him into the Romany world, where he is perceived as a curio.
The fact that he knows only a few Romany phrases and NO Romanian, cast him as the rube.
Fortunately (and fortune bears two faces), one girl speaks French.
To term their relationship highly charged would be understating it.
Film does not gloss over the tensions between normal Romanians, and the gypsies.

Note:  I have been to Romania a few times.
I never saw any of the girls wearing traditional garb, as in this film.

My Name Ain’t Suzie - 1985 - Hong Kong

My Name Ain’t Suzie - 1985 - 6/10

AKA - Fa Gai si Doi  //  花街時代

 
Purported rebuttal to 1960‘s The World Of Suzie Wong is too little, too late.
Barely adolescent, village girls follow free-spending madam back to the Hong Kong brothel.
There, they are educated in the ways of male satisfaction, and emptying males of their folding money.
Colorful Shaw Brothers production is PG, with no nudity, let alone suggestive moaning.
Just giggling, happy hookers servicing the US Navy from the Korean conflict to Vietnam era, after which traffic ebbs.
Expect the ubiquitous bar fight.  Triad involvement hinted at, drugs and pregnancies skirt by.
Most surprising (to me) was seeing the abandoned boy the madam had raised as her own, and was turning into her private boy toy, a young Anthony Wong in his first role.

Vanquisher - 2009 - Thailand

Vanquisher - 2009 - 4/10
AKA - Suay Samurai  //  สวย...ซามูไร

 
I started watching this with others, finished watching alone.
Heard muttering about, " ... another one of his winners ... "
Absurd Thai actioner begins as CIA sends hottie Thai op to kidnap a Muslim insurgent for the Russians.
Within five minutes, the time frame is two years later, and hottie is sent to eliminate another radical.
From there, confusion reigns.
A pair of Japanese hitmen get involved, as do an army of sword swinging ninjas.
There are a couple of lush female Thai cops (on either side of the conflicts), three Muslim chicks with scimitars, a dozen Thai black op agents on underpowered, put-put motorscooters, a samurai master, and absolutely no plot whatsoever.
Everyone was fighting ... for ... I'm not sure what.
This got awful reviews, I still watched it.
Loser.

Romulus - 2020

Romulus - 2020 - 6/10

Boldly imaginative take on the founders of Rome.
Note.  This is pre-Rome.  No coliseums, no columns.  Straw huts and animal skins.

 
Straight off, I was baffled.  Who were these characters?  Plus, there were so many!
Not to worry, characters are drawn in broad strokes, and a fair percentage are killed early on.
After awhile, I was glad I stayed with this, as I perceived what the producers were doing.
Big points there.  The final episode, however, proved deeply unsatisfying to most.
Latin majors, rejoice!  Ten episodes, spoken in the Classical language!

Howl - 2015 - UK

Howl - 2015 - 6/10

 
Midnight train to Eastborough slams to a stop in the Thornton forest.
Bickering, querulous passengers soon realize they are stranded and become prey.
Predictable (I guessed early meals, and called the survivor).  Limitations disguised with rain, fog and low light.
Unlike Dog Soldiers, no humor, and characters are weak, annoying or simply undeveloped.
Much as I hoped, Allen Ginsberg never appears.
Wolf pack, queue up.
 

London: Modern Babylon - 2012 - UK

London: Modern Babylon - 2012 - 6/10

 
Flashy arthouse film / documentary / 100 year history of London.
More or less chronological beginning from 1900.
Edits newsreel footage, silent films, movies, interviews, converts, dancing like a skipping stone on events of the last 100 years.
WWI, the Blitz, Swinging London, 2011 riots, are covered, as well as the changing face of the city.
London, the quintessential "English" city at the beginning, emerges as a multi cultural megapolis by the end.
Very well done, but a bit wearying, like viewing a two hour music video.
Sensory overload to be sure.

Laurel Canyon - 2020 - USA

Laurel Canyon - 2020 - 7/10

 
Rosy tinted nostalgia of Los Angeles neighborhood, circa 1965-1971, when musicians roamed.
This is more free-wheeling and more substantive than 2018’s “vanity doc” by Dylan’s kid.
Straight off, Joni Mitchell is included, as are Love, the Doors, even Alice Cooper (early Zappa signee).
Youthful photos and images are shown while current voices recollect.
One sees the artists during their creative peak, not after the progression of decades.

 
The second part opens with the demise of the 60’s:  Manson family, Kent State, Altamont.
Narrative cruises into the 70’s, with Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, The Eagles.
Some have voiced the second half is a downer.  Not really.  Tastes and fashions change.
Chronology of the doc is somewhat massaged, but not overly so.

Let’s Get Lost - 1988

Let’s Get Lost - 1988 - 7/10

After watching Ethan Hawke’s well meaning, but sweetened portrayal of Chet Baker, I dug out this blunt alternative.
The face and soul of chronic addiction.

 
Difficult, at times abrasive, portrayal of the performer, something of a cult figure.
Flashbacks, old photos, recent performances.
Candid answers and ruminations from Mr. Baker are contrasted with corrections from fellow sidemen and the women in his life.
Mother, one of his wives, his daughter, two girlfriends.
This is  a beautiful film, gorgeous in black and white, but it is something of an art project.
Director Bruce Weber sticks to his conceit of withered beauty, focusing on time and heroin’s ravage of the Prince of Cool
A haunting viewing experience, though it is not a documentary, and certainly not a biography.
Let’s Get Lost is more Bruce Weber, and less Chet Baker.

Confession, I'm a big fan of Chet Baker.  I have close to sixty recordings and I'm still buying titles of his.
A poignant artist of despair and regret, especially in his mature years.

Searching For Sugarman - 2012 - Sweden

Searching For Sugarman - 2012 - 7/10

 
If you are a music fan, like a hardcore collector, you are always searching for new.
Or forgotten, or overlooked.  You don't want mainstream, that's for the herd.
Documentary about the obscure Detroit musician, Rodriguez. 
He released two albums in the early 70’s.  Both sank like stones. 
One night, so the story went, angry, despondent, Rodriguez killed himself onstage in front of a bored crowd.  No one knew him, no one missed him.
Except in South Africa where he had been massively popular. And he had never known.
Film follows the trail.  Who was Rodriguez?  What happened to him?
This one really pulls you in, partly for the mystery, partly because his music is surprisingly good.

Born To Be Blue - 2015

Born To Be Blue - 2015 - 6/10

 
Iffy musing on Chet Baker’s “missing years.”
Between the glamorous, youthful heyday and the stubborn comeback.
The years when his teeth were knocked out and he had to rebuild his embouchure.
This is **not** a biopic proper.  The girlfriend is a composite of Halema, Diane and Ruth.
Bit careless on chronology, too.  And the ending -- no.
Credit to filmmakers for trying to show the unpleasant side of Baker to balance the talent.
They did not go far enough, though, and this is too feel goody for my understanding of Mr Baker.