Radio Days - 1987 - USA

Radio Days - 1987 - 8/10

 
Shimmering 40’s nostalgia.  My go-to suggestion for people who say they don’t like Woody Allen films.
Tall tales and anecdotes from Old Time Radio’s golden age.
Interspersed with various members of a struggling Rockaway family.
Comic situations and laughs come fast and often, with tons of cameos (Tito Puente, Kitty Carlisle, Diane Keaton, Wally Schawn).
Likely the most personal of Allen’s films, or at least the most revealing of his childhood, and early years as a gag writer.
Highly exaggerated, to be sure, but packed with unforgettable moments.

Lady In White - 1962 - Sweden

Lady In White - 1962 - 6/10
AKA - White Lady  //  Vita Frun

 
Though listed and discussed at various Noir sites, this Swedish film is more a whodunit.
Reminiscent of creaky manor mysteries of the early 1930's, with a dollop of Gothic.
Family and high placed associates gather for the reading of the will.
From delighted to disappointed to distraught.
Warnings are followed by corpses.
The large estate and grounds are a maze of back hallways, listening tunnels, and half glimpsed figures.
Music is a strange mix of combo jazz, wordless chorus and electronic.
Everyone is out for gain, nefarious business during late nights and in the nearby swamps.
Old fashioned, drawing room clichés, evident throughout, may be fun for fans of this type.

City Of Tiny Lights - 2016 - UK

City Of Tiny Lights - 2016 - 6/10

 
Hypnotic, neo-Noir, set primarily in the neon nights of London.
Private Eye Akhtar is hired by a hooker to find her missing colleague, last seen with a new john.
What Akhtar finds is a dead body, then a cover-up, followed by a string of individuals demanding to know what else he saw.
Rabbit hole story with numerous angles and perspectives.
Akhtar leads viewers into the dimly lit multicultural enclaves of London, and into his traumatic past.
Other viewers scored this poorly, stating they could not understand the dialogue.  Get subtitles.
Cinematography shimmers throughout, recalling 1999’s Wonderland.

The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came To Eden - 2013 - USA

The Galapagos Affair:  Satan Came To Eden - 2013 - 6/10

 
In 1929, Friedrich Ritter and Dore Strauch abandon Berlin for remote islands, to escape civilization.
Back to the earth, man versus nature, in vogue at the time, especially in Germany.
A year on, articles were published about their Eden and paradise existence, and that drew newcomers.
Documentary of the conflicts, resentments, and eventual disappearance of individuals.
Filmmakers work diligently to make this footnote seem compelling, though it is more a curio, despite the heady aroma of tropical sexual abandon.
Amazing period footage (how did that survive, who kept them?), including a silent pirate movie!
Interviewees include modern day inhabitants who speculate as well as you or I.

Of note to the decadents.
After the sinister disappearance, neighbors argued that the individual never - ever - would have left without taking their favorite book.  The book that accompanied them everywhere, was their good luck charm, was still in their cabin.

Surreal - 2017 - Canada

Surreal - 2017 - 5/10

 
Confusing short of encounter in the snowy woods.
The man is clearly on the run, when he realizes a young girl follows.
She barely speaks, leaving one to wonder who she is, or what she is.
Is she a Fate, a ghost, a fetch, a spirit?
Some living, quiet catastrophe that haunts the desolation.

Blue Jasmine - 2013 - USA

Blue Jasmine - 2013 - 7/10

 
Meticulously composed, beautifully acted tale of sheltered character’s tumble from the rarefied strata to the take-out life.
Aside from Blanchett’s standout performance, everyone is top notch, especially some of the surprise casting.
Baldwin gets overlooked a bit, yet his presence is always felt, and his absence more so.
Wonderful cinematography.  The lushness of Jasmine’s gilt life contrasts with the cramped, dime store world her sister inhabits.
Plot wise, Allen holds revelations till the end, and one feels attitudes and allegiances to characters shift.
Ostensibly a spiral yarn, the skeleton of the story keeps the viewer returning to the rarefied sphere throughout.

Wonderland - 1999 - UK

Wonderland - 1999 - 7/10

 
Three sisters, one married, one divorced, one single, meet up periodically to catch up.
Fairy tale does not describe their daily grind.
And yet, they still hope, they put themselves “out there,” whether dating or siring.
Dating in the 90’s.  Prospective princes are a countless lot.
Very few Mr. Rights, or Right-Now, just blunted encounters.
The photography is hypnotic, the street scenes immersive.
Fabulous film, this is the bitter tonic to RomComs.
The flower of romance here seems a lonely bloom struggling in the wastes.

New World - 2013 - S Korea

New World - 2013 - 6/10
AKA - Hangul //  신세계

 
Powerful criminal gang head dies in sudden accident, and the throne is vacant.
Police see this as an opportunity to break up the powerful gang from within.
Because -- the police have infiltrated it.
Echoes of many yakuza and triad films, particularly Infernal Affairs.
A masculine cast of major S Korean actors exude macho.
Violence tends to splash in bursts in overlong, poky film, with too many minor characters.
If you decide to give this a look, watch for late twists.

Grand Piano - 2013 - Spain

Grand Piano - 2013 - 6/10

 
Variation on the “locked room” mystery.
Reclusive pianist (Elijah Wood) makes a stage comeback after his mentor’s death.
Once onstage, he sees a written note and earpiece, then warnings to play faultlessly or die.
A laser on the sheet music, and silencer gun strike on the floor convince him.
Clues arrive slowly, as do reasons.  More tension than action, with the narrative rarely leaving the stage.
OK time waster if the only alternative is television fodder.
John Cusack provides the voice of the villain.
 

The Hunt - 2012 - Denmark

The Hunt - 2012 - 7/10
AKA - Jagten

 
Harrowing character study, with Mads Mikkelsen as kindergarten teacher.
After a five year old tells that he showed his erection, his life is royally and totally frakked.
Barring a miracle, there is no way a blot like that will ever wash clean.
Everyone in the village turns against him.  Though it never said why, one suspects he could not leave while police investigations were ongoing.  So he lived amidst escalating resentment, fear and hatred.
Almost to a soul, everyone took the child’s story as gospel.
This gets really ugly.

I saw this happen first hand, when a regular customer of the store where I worked was accused by a twelve year old.  He was a math teacher, and completely exonerated.
Transpired the student launched accusations after being displeased with poor grades.
The man was released by the school, the district would not employ him, he could not find work within 100 miles.
He eventually relocated across the country.

Couple years later, a rep from the school district visited the music store.
District honchos had heard there were five guys with BA degrees in Art, English, and History, toiling for budget wages.
The district was desperate for male, “role model” teachers.
Despite financial proposals that were quadruple our meager record store salary, we all refused.
Citing how every single year, it seemed some poor male teacher was accused, cleared, yet ruined.
The stench of accusal, especially related to children, never disappears.

Happy-Go-Lucky - 2008 - UK

Happy-Go-Lucky - 2008 - 6/10

 
Elementary school teacher, Poppy, laughs with friends and starts taking driving lessons.
Everything is a joke to her.  She smirks, giggles, pops everyone’s “serious balloon.”
When others try to stress a point (as in a lesson) she makes monkey faces and belittling comments.
Unctuous, supercilious, 30 year old Poppy lingers as a perpetual thirteen year old.
Very much the female equivalent of Mr. Poppy from the Nativity franchise.
Sally Hawkins terrific in this, as I have known actual souls like her character (in their 30’s - 70’s).
Eternal juveniles.
This film seems embraced by optimists and the ever-hopeful.

Meru - 2015 - USA

Meru - 2015 - 7/10

 
Mountain film.
Like Everest, Meru is in the Himalayas.
Unlike Everest, there are no servants (sherpas) to coddle rich wannabees, or torrents of pissing, trash tossing, selfie stick waving dickwits.
Nope, this doc follows three climbers, on their own, trying to surmount one of the last virgin peaks on the planet.
Narration outweighs outdoor scenery in this, though the three men are more personable than other rock crawlers.
Film excels at showing hardships, exhaustion, and the risks from overextending your limits.
Extras include a cheerful tour of the cramped, frigid porta-ledge, suspended over oblivion.
I see a fair amount of climbing flicks.  This, for me, is a rarity as the men here are rugged old school, self reliant, not dependent on dozens of paid slaves to do the grunt work.

Kingdom: Ashin Of The North - 2021 - S Korea

Kingdom:  Ashin Of The North - 2021 - 6/10
AKA - Kingdom: Ashinjeon  //  킹덤: 아신전

Well now, this was unexpected!
A side story to the K-drama,  The Kingdom.
In the far north of Joseon, a young girl comes across the Resurrection Plant.

 
What follows is her story, and that of her village, caught between the struggling Joseon empire and the rising Pajeowi.
Excellent horror thriller, but viewers familiar with the series proper will better appreciate.
The writing shines, as this stitches and links the first season and the second.
Really well done.
If curious, I suggest you shun over-sharing reviews.

The Sound - 2021 - USA

The Sound - 2021 - 5/10

 
Brief film of male character being tormented by incessant ticking.
In ten minutes he upturns his home, trying to find and squelch the noise.
Descriptions list Edgar Allan Poe and psychological horror, though those would be a stretch.
Acting is fine, better than most shorts, sound mix rises to the occasion.

Bridal Mask - 2012 - S Korea

Bridal Mask - 2012 - 6/10
AKA - Gaksital // 각 시 탈

 
Tremendously popular K-drama, set during pre WWII occupied Korea.
Resistance loner, wearing white and a traditional bridal mask, single handedly combats Japanese troops, police, and fatcat appeasers enriching themselves while their brothers bleed and starve.
Quality sets and costumes, luxurious production values, typical of K-dramas.
Several haircuts are jarringly wrong, however.  No males of that era had hair over the ears, especially military or police.
Nightclub shows strike me as a bit modern, as well, but perhaps not.
Real issue is the concept, Korean resistance.  According to Wiki (dubious source of info), strikes were the prevalent form, not armed confrontation.
Despite those quibbles, an excellent series, stained with blood, beatings, shootings, torture, and corrupt intrigue.
High body count in this one.

Spy Smasher - 1942 - USA

Spy Smasher - 1942 - 6/10

 
Yes, boys and girls, spies have infiltrated America and mean you harm!
Police - FBI - CIA (wait, there is no CIA) are outsmarted by the diabolical Mask and his gang of thieves, saboteurs, traitors, and the ever ready Kriegsmarine.
Fortunately, the heroic and rugged Spy Smasher is there to thwart their villainy!
One of the greatest cliffhangers ever from Republic features a pile of stunts that still impress.
Kane Richmond, starring in a dual role, is clearly in peak physical form throughout.
Fights are well choreographed and inventively staged.  Many with double, or triple!, jeopardies!
(Lucas and Spielberg borrowed sequences for Raiders Of The Lost Ark).
A few too many cheats on cliffhangers for my liking.
This also informed a scene from A Christmas Story, where Ralphie and Randy stand in line to see Santa Claus behind a boy wearing costume and goggles - Spy Smasher's garb.

Cutie And The Boxer - 2013 - Japan

Cutie And The Boxer - 2013 - 6/10

 
Painter Ushio Shinohara left Japan for New York back in the 70's for greater artistic freedom.
Though one of the best known painters of his generation, his reputation is still largely underground.
Doc shows him with his wife of 40 years, Noriko, an artist in her own right, whom he openly regards as the poorer artist.
“The lesser talent must serve the genius.”  (One can only guess how she receives his dismissive slight.)
Couple of sequences show him creating his trademark boxing paintings, paint-soaked material slammed into lengthy canvases.
Cult fame notwithstanding, the couple exist precariously in a leaky home, with New York sized bills and debilitating old age looming.
 

My Generation - 2017 - UK

My Generation - 2017 - 7/10

 
Fab encapsulation of 60’s Swinging London, hosted by Michael Caine.
Early shortages, class system, the creative explosions in music, art, fashion, film.
Caine chats with David Bailey, Roger Daltrey, Mary Quant, Marianne Faithfull, Paul McCartney.
Other voices are included from historical footage and interviews.
Throughout, there is the juxtaposition of Caine in the 60’s, and Caine as he is today.
Exuberant, flashkick documentary makes a gear joyride.
Advice:  Watch this, then read “Ready, Steady, Go!” by Shawn Levy, then rewatch this.

Boogie Nights - 1997 - USA

Boogie Nights - 1997 - 7/10

 
Cowabunga!
Rise and fall and rise again of Dirk Diggler, inside the happy family of porn.
The 70's San Fernando Valley recreated in sweeping detail.
Costumes, soundtrack, hairstyles, even the Reseda opening shot (where I saw many a film), all were spot on.
Likewise, the laid back So Cal vibe, the hopeful insecurity of most of the characters.
Film seemed to run a bit long and was excessive, though, to be fair, excess defined the 70's.
Story also glossed over the predatory nature of the business.
Despite flaws, a wonderful movie, and a breakthrough for many young performers.
 

Recruiting on Hollywood - 

Off Hollywood Boulevard, there used to be a huge magazine/newspaper stand.  Might still be there.
On display were newspapers from all 50 states.
Tourists would linger there, as well as kids who were lonely, broke, lost.
I was 19 and all that.  Within six months, I would have one foot in the gutter, but at the time I was still optimistic.
Men in sunglasses and gold chains prowled near the stand, evaluated the meat, made the offer.
“Hey, my man, you ever thought about being in movies?”
I only got it once, and I shrugged a no.  Don’t know why I got it, either, I was too thin.
Mostly girls, pretty girls, were approached.  I saw several follow the tout out of earshot, then talk.
Never saw them again.
Anyway, that magazine rack was prime hunting territory for fresh faced, homesick kids.
At least back in the 70's.

Neko Zamurai - 2013 - Japan

Neko Zamurai - 2013 - 6/10
AKA - Samurai Cat

 
An impoverished Ronin is approached for an assassination job.
Kill a family cat.
The anxious servant believes his master has been bewitched by a goblin cat!
Such a lowly assignment is beneath a master of the Muso sword technique.
Nevertheless, when one is starving and facing eviction ... needs must.
12 half hour episodes of the proud, unemployed warrior and his pure white, household guest.
Brief swordplay, wry humor throughout, in a series aimed squarely at fans of felines.

Tribes Of Europa: S01 - 2021 - Germany

Tribes Of Europa - 2021 - 5/10

 
After the Cyber-War and subsequent breakdown of technology, Europe is ruled by tribes.
Behold, our young heroes, two brothers and a sister, of the Origine clan, living secretly in the woods.
An unforeseen accident brings the brutal Crows, who destroy the Origine and enslave the survivors.
Our heroic trio are separated.
One is captured by the Crows (Mad Max), one joins the Crimsons (Rebel Alliance), one hooks up with a bandit-con man-smuggler (no wookie buddy).
To be kind, I gather this is aimed at the Young Adult market, those who have not yet seen thousands of films.
The plot is breathtakingly unoriginal.  I’d watch a scene, thinking, ‘This will happen next,” and sure enough.
Or,  ‘This person will …”   Yeah, yeah, yeah.  It is embarrassing, how totally lame the writing is.
(For a world sans tech, there is fuel for vehicles, bullets for firearms.)
Worse, by E03, I knew this series would not conclude.  Six, 47” episodes (of which 7” are credits).
Will there be a S02?  Do you feel lucky?