Beware Of Mr. Baker - 2010

Beware Of Mr. Baker - 2010 - 7/10

 
Biography of Ginger Baker, devil of the drums.
Interviews with Bruce & Clapton from Cream, Winwood from Blind Faith, and lots of modern era drummers, who were influenced by him.
Tons of clips as well as animated sequences.
Baker was a troubled child and a reckless force of nature.  Three of his four wives speak on camera (though wife #4 seem\s less than comfortable).
Drug addictions, zero financial sense, and rootless ways keep him skirting near the edge of poverty.
What saves him is his drum kit.  At any age, he can still pound harder, and with more soul and understanding than almost any.
Even in his 70's, Baker is a right piece of work, opening the film by giving his interviewer a bloody nose by smacking him with his cane.
Great moment.  Do not go gentle into that good night.

Snow White Must Die - 2013 - Germany

Snow White Must Die - 2013 - 6/10
AKA - Schneewittchen Muss Sterben

 
Tobias returns to the small town after being in prison eight years.
The crime?  Murder of the village flirt, though no body was ever found.
His arrival upsets most, ignites an old flame, and results in one hanging.
Murder or suicide?  Police arrive to ascertain, and to start sifting through buried secrets.
Passable mystery (based on Nele Nauhaus novel) has location settings, and well defined characters who don’t blur into each other.

Lelíček In Sherlock Holmes' Service - 1932

Lelíček In Sherlock Holmes' Service - 1932 - 6/10
AKA - Lelíček ve Službách Sherlocka Holmese

 
The great detective agrees to find a double for an endangered monarch.
The king of Puerto Rico.
He finds a suitable candidate in Prague, persuades him, and they catch the train to Puerto Rico.
Bear with me.
Turns out the king, an anxious milquetoast, has reasons to be concerned with assassination.
Anarchists are easy to recognize as their garb is a cross between pirate and gypsy and Zorro.
Once the pair reach Puerto Rico, the kingdom is recognized instantly.
This is not the Caribbean, this is Freedonia!

 
There is no Zeppo, but there are songs in this creaky comic gem from Czechoslovakia.
The double is a handful for Holmes, though the love starved queen knows a thing about scepters.

Note:  English subs can be difficult to locate for this.  The one set I found had some issues.
I fixed timestamps, clarified dialogue, and a few other tweaks.
My subs = https://subscene.com/subtitles/lelek-ve-slubch-sherlocka-holmese/english/1889245
or - http://www.addic7ed.com/movie/140729

No One Lives - 2012

No One Lives - 2012 - 5/10

 
Another variation on the dead teenager fugue.  Sorta.
Yuppie couple driving cross country runs afoul of small town family gangsters.
Thugs have already shown themselves capable of murder.
That time, however, they chose a psychopath as victim.
Reference title.  Predictable track - whack - splat.
Nothing especially imaginative or creative about meals.

The Boarding School - 2021 - Spain

The Boarding School - 2021 - 6/10
AKA - El Internado: Las Cumbres

 
Good opening episode, hard charging, if exasperating, final episode.
In between, this series is more padded than a Vegas showgirl’s bustier.
Affluent delinquents endure rigorous discipline inside an exclusive school.
How do I know they are rich?  Because that school ain’t cheap.
And delinquents?  Adults in charge keep reminding them.
Mystery abounds of a sinister order and ravens, never remotely explained.
Other mysteries are revealed then abandoned.  The abrupt ending leaves numerous loose ends.
Students roam the halls nightly.  Motions detectors?  Security cameras?  Nope.
Likewise, any time any character accesses a computer, is that password protected?  Ha ha.
This seems targeted toward teens as each episode is padded with 3-4 “sex” (no nudity) scenes.
Producers may have been aiming for more seasons.  Good luck there, Barney.
With an ongoing global pandemic, no telling when or if this will ever resume.
The longer the delay, the more our “students” will solidify into twenty year olds.

Sunday Illness - 2018

Sunday Illness - 2018 - 6/10
AKA - La Enfermedad del Domingo

 
Chiara's opulent dinner party, attended by an elite, has a stowaway among the temp help.
The older woman recognizes the infiltrator almost at once.
It is the daughter she threw away thirty years earlier.
This is not chance, for the daughter has a request, and no, not financial.
In fact, she is not really that interested in why her mother abandoned her.
A child was inconvenient, Mom wanted a better life and she succeeded gloriously.
I must confess I preferred the earlier, lavish half, despite its shallowness, to the stark realities of the second half.
Beautiful visuals, though the emotional undercurrents are austere to the point of frigidity.

Hunting ASH - 1991 - Hong Kong

Hunting ASH - 1991 - 5/10
AKA - Skyscraper Hunting  //  Chôkôsô Hantingu  //  摩天大楼狩猎

The 80's marked the first appearance of the Abnormal Species Human (ASH).
They appear human, except for a pulsating dark extension running down their back - think spinal cord on steroids.
They have telekinetic powers to burn people alive, blow them to smithereens.
Worse (to menfolk in general), the male ASH are irresistible to human females.
Women go gaga over the ASH knobby cob.
Happy ASH males, sharing their love ooze, also spreading DNA.  Babies!!

 
Thank God, there is an special unit of cops chasing down this new danger!
So-so Japanese SciFi has acceptable sfx, cheesy synth score, and the plot cobbles together elements from several other films.
Despite the infrequent inter-species rutting, this is neither lurid nor outrageous enough to tempt trash fans.

Newlyweds - 2011

Newlyweds - 2011 - 5/10

 
New York apartment drama from low rent, indie filmmaker, Edward Burns (best known for Brothers McMullen).
Older couple embark on the second marriage.  In no time flat, the groom’s younger, toxic sister arrives from Los Angeles for indefinite stay.
Then the bride’s older, toxic sister, suffers imminent divorce.  Drama, drama, drama.
There’s also an ex floating about.
Self absorbed characters (though Mr Burns cast himself as the rock of stability), spouting forced, provocative dialogue.
I’ve sat through worse.

A Rather English Marriage - 1998

A Rather English Marriage - 1998 - 6/10

 
Squadron leader Conyngham-Jervis and milkman Southgate visit dying wives in the hospital.
Afterward, Social Services suggest the widowers move in together for companionship.
From there, this becomes a study of characters.
While everyone is excellent, Albert Finney is horribly terrific.
His character, who insists on everyone calling him squadron leader, is insufferable.
Vain, pompous, reveling in the bygone days of youth, battles and conquests.
One of the audience members equated him with Mister Toad.  Quite apt.

The Eternal Evil Of Asia - 1995 - Hong Kong

The Eternal Evil Of Asia - 1995 - 6/10
AKA - Nan Yang Shi da Xie Shu  // 南洋十大邪術

 
After Nam’s parents die, he stresses out over trivialities.
Worse, his parents return as ghosts and he slaughters everyone in sight, including himself.
Hey?  There is a backstory.  Four buddies holiday in Thailand for lusty adventures.
There, they disrespect a sorcerer – with hilarious consequences – yet wind up being friends.
Until they catch sight of the wizard’s cute sister.
Before you know it, there are curses, enchantments and hexes.
There is also a considerable amount of sex magick (including flying wheelbarrow configuration!).
Wildly gratuitous Cat III horror from Hong Kong.
Find a version with original, embedded subtitles.  Hilariously atrocious.

Stranger On The Third Floor - 1940 - USA

Stranger On The Third Floor - 1940 - 6/10

 
Early, early Film Noir.  Perhaps not quite Noir enough for many, but this was definitely one of the stylized bridges between Expressionism and Film Noir.
Reporter’s testimony convicts a man (young Elisha Cook) of murder.
The reporter’s girlfriend feels he might have been innocent.
The reporter suffers twinges of doubt, especially after he sees Peter Lorre skulking in the shadows.
Brief whodunit B-picture from RKO, with ham handed leads, bolstered by an astounding dream sequence.
I had viewed bits of the dream montage in several documentaries, but never the full showcase.
Terrific use of light, shadows, angles.

Dr. Mabuse Vs. Scotland Yard - 1963

Dr. Mabuse Vs. Scotland Yard - 1963 - 5/10
AKA - Scotland Yard Jagt Dr. Mabuse

 
Hard to get shed of classic villains permanently.
The "spirit" of the criminal mastermind enters the body of a distinguished professor.
In possession of corporeal form, Mabuse rebuilds a gang and plots world domination ... again.
He obtains a gizmo that gives him total mind control of all but a select few.
Even poor Klaus Kinski, stalwart Scotland Yard detective, succumbs!
OK enough Krimi is a bit talky at time, and the criminal business often extends too long.
An early Krimi, this one is more serious than spoof in adapting the Edgar Wallace source.

Escape Room - 2019

Escape Room - 2019 - 6/10

 
Six receive the invite.  Or perhaps six “solve” the invite, a complicated puzzle cube.
No matter, whether they want to or not, the game soon launches.
Rooms soon transform into Rube Goldberg death traps.
Yes, rooms.  Escaping from one does not ensure survival.
Serviceable characters contend with eye-popping set designs.

Romantics Anonymous - 2011

Romantics Anonymous - 2011 - 6/10
AKA - Les émotifs Anonymes

 
French fluff.  Romantic comedy of painfully shy woman and man who is afraid of females.
They meet at his failing chocolate factory, where she hires on as a salesman.
Unbeknownst to him, she is a master chocolatière in her own right.
Will she step up?  Will she save the company?  Will the shy pair get together?
Predictable - enjoyable.  And a lot of mouth watering chocolate.

Housebound - 2014 - UK

Housebound - 2014 - 7/10

 
Repeat offender (petty crimes, substance abuse, dismal attitude) is given the worse-than-death sentence.
Home arrest with Mom, and Ma's boyfriend.
Ma is a chatterbox, whether gossiping on the phone, or calling talk radio and over-sharing.
Mother believes the home is haunted, or hosts a supernatural presence.
In the basement, the daughter sees what might fuel Ma's fevered imagination.
A stash of books by renowned literary master, Gordon Dickson.
And then he hears noises herself, inside the walls.
Fast paced horror/mystery is generously laced with comedy, plot twists and revelations.