Hunting The Gauleiter - 2012 - Russia

Hunting The Gauleiter - 2012 - 6/10
AKA - Okhota na Gaulyaytera  //  Охота Hа Rауляйтера

Nazi occupied Minsk during the early days of WWII.
The Wehrmacht overwhelms the territory causing the populace to flee to the wilderness (where they are never found!) or stay in the city to work as labor.

 
The plot is cynical and wise.
The regional commander, the gauleiter, is at odds with the SS commander.
The latter wants to kill as much of the population as he can, the former wants them alive as forced labor.
Likewise with the Soviet resistance, under orders to assassinate the gauleiter.
They would prefer to destroy a supply train (more damage, less reprisals), but one does not disobey Moscow.
Nice production values in this ten parter offset by hammy, melodramatic acting.
Specifically from the women, who were apparently directed this way, which I cannot fathom.
They gush, swoon, over-emote.
Or they can-can to entertain German officers.

 
In Russian and German, though the German is hideously overdubbed in monotone Russian.
Generally useful to view another take on history.

The Lineup - 1958 - USA

The Lineup - 1958 - 6/10

 
Lean film spinoff from old (lost?) 50's TV show called "San Francisco Beat".
Don Siegel directs retrieval caper of twin hoods fetching merchandise smuggled in by innocent tourists.
Eli Wallach terrific as barely restrained, borderline psychotic killer.
Narrative sorta ho-hum, with cops a step behind bad guys.  Good use of Bay locations.

Sherlock Holmes And The Deadly Necklace - 1962 - Germany

Sherlock Holmes And The Deadly Necklace - 1962 - 6/10
AKA - Sherlock Holmes und das Halsband des Todes

 
Necklace being the one originally possessed by Cleopatra.
Holmes is involved because Professor Moriarty has extended his murderous hands.
Christopher Lee is a stolid, forceful Holmes, but this tale is far from canon.
No, this is a Krimi, a German production similar to the films based on Edgar Wallace novels.
There is less action than viewers might have anticipated, and Moriarty seems to bear as much screen time as Holmes.
Though well-staged, the plot stumbles and there is little tension.
This is a misfire.  Lee would have another crack at Sherlock in 1991.

Love, Life And Goldfish - 2021 - Japan

Love, Life And Goldfish - 2021 - 7/10
AKA - Sukutte Goran  //  すくってごら

Losing his cool at work, Kashiba is exiled to a branch office, in a tiny village.
This is career ending.
Entering the village in early evening, he is bewitched by the girl in front of him.
Walking amidst a sea of fans, dancers, and lanterns.
And he realizes there is something highly unusual about this village.

 
Barely a romance, themes of regret, rejection and loneliness predominate.
There are also goldfish throughout, which I will not elaborate on.  And triangles.
Much as Kashiba is smitten, another female is love struck by him.

 
This is also a musical, with a dozen songs.  Catchy, hook laden J-pop.
Hollywood or Broadway would likely apply a formula and have a hit with this.
This is Japanese, however.  This is quirky and will be should delight fans of such.

Faces Places - 2017 - France

Faces Places - 2017 - 6/10
AKA - Visages Villages

 
Interesting, fascinating, annoying, irritating documentary of two disparate French photographers.
Director (and photo buff) Agnès Varda teams with photographer JR who pastes large photo murals in public spaces.
They travel to remote, often dying villages, and paste up huge photographs of bygone laborers, aging survivors, or interesting faces from the community.
The sense of unearthing history, and preservation is totally absorbing.
Capturing the moment, even the forgotten moment, and showcasing for time indefinite.
On the other hand, Ms Varda instructs subjects - female subjects - to remove their glasses.
For capturing a slice of truth, this struck me as a bit of artistic dishonesty, though I will be the first to admit creative souls often adopt a laissez-faire attitude towards the real.
The final bit, hunting for Godard turns into a very sour finish.

Devil - 2007 - S Korea

Devil - 2007 - 7/10
AKA - Ma-wang // 마 왕

 
K-drama about revenge.
Not the implacable, unstoppable, self-righteous vengeance of 99% of plots.
No, this factors the wages of revenge, the toll it takes on conscience, karma, and those around you.
Matching tarot cards are sent to police and victim, and the police hustle to identify and protect victim.
Luckily, a girl who works in a fortune parlor can explain what each card means - may not mean - plus, she is psychic!
Meandering puzzle plot that widens considerably midway, then tightens with little room for escape, as well as justifications for murders.
Exteriors appeared shot during spring as colors were often breathtaking.
Interiors more hit and miss, about the third of interiors rivaled cheap soap opera sets.
Romance elements, not too terrible.

Raw - 2016 - France

Raw - 2016 - 6/10
AKA - Grave

 
Strict vegetarian Justine enrolls in premier veterinarian college.
During freshman hazing, she is forced to eat raw liver.
She acquires a taste for meat, and unsatisfied craving alters her personality.
Shocker from France and Belgium boasts  visual style and successfully captures the disorientation experienced by many college arrivals.
Justine's embrace of darker extra-curricular opportunities may upset the squeamish.
Plot holes are often forgotten as carnivore and more primitive appetites swing to the fore.
Moody excursion may leave an unsavory taste.
Animal lovers - consider the vet college setting.

Behind Green Lights - 1946 - USA

Behind Green Lights - 1946 - 6/10

 
B-film quickie from 20th Fox.
Body is dumped outside police station setting off more reactions than a pinball machine.
Three murder suspects, body switcheroo, fistfights, escapee, romance, conspiracy, political chicanery.
All that, in barely an hour flick.  Breathless nonsense.
Carole Landis as lead actress was near end of her career here.
A once major star, now relegated to B pictures, she would be a suicide statistic in two years, age 29.
John Ireland made the most of his small part, in this his second film, and he would stay busy for five more decades.

Child Eater - 2012 - USA

Child Eater - 2012 - 6/10

 
“I’m telling you, there’s a man in my closet!”
Ever was it so, the babysitter ignores the frightened child.
This brief shocker piles it on.
Dark fairy tales, childhood trauma, the horny, dismissive boyfriend.
Dialogue muffled at times, good camerawork, inventive use of meager budget.
Unsettling horror, especially for parents of young children.
Writer / director Erlingur Thoroddsen is now moving into features.

Yakuza Deka: Assassin - 1970 - Japan

Yakuza Deka: Assassin - 1970 - 5/10
AKA -  やくざ刑事

 
Undercover cop (Sonny Chiba) infiltrates drug gangs.
Main thread has something to do with smuggling marijuana from faraway Mexico.
Guess the Yakuza never heard of Thai sticks.
Despite all the explosions, shootings, stabbings, etc ... film felt like a spoof.
There must have been thirty-seven plots going on, the narrative was incoherent at times.
No matter.  Wild 70’s costumes, garish sets (nude marijuana orgy room a standout), amped out action sequences.
Lots of energy, lots of fun, but daffy.

Audrey - 2020 - UK

Audrey - 2020 - 6/10

 
I half expected this biography of Audrey Hepburn to disappoint.
Her childhood moves quickly.  Parents, Nazi supporters, her struggles in WWII Netherlands.
Glimpses of her early theatre work, minor English film roles, are rare gems.
Hollywood years involve 5-6 films, and some major films omitted.
Outside of marriages, her personal life is sketchy.
Her role as Unicef ambassador is well covered.
There are ballet sequences with no purpose.
Talking heads include Swiss neighbors, Richard Avedon’s grandson (?), biographers, people who barely knew her.
Many come across as distant souls trying to touch Hepburn’s stardust.
She deserves a better doc than this.

Wonder Wheel - 2017 - USA

Wonder Wheel - 2017 - 6/10

 
Woody Allen recalls Coney Island of the 50's.
Married couple struggle with the park's decline.  Young son is a pyro, older daughter has fled her Mafia husband.
Lifeguard, an aspiring writer, narrates, and attracts the wife, who once was an "actress."
Various storylines are solid, if a little threadbare.
Acting is also first rate, and yet, this is highly theatrical.  Meaning, smells stagebound.
Dialogue often turns into soliloquy, conversation is like delivering lines.
Wonderful camera work!  Saturated colors, sweeping shadows, great eye from Vittorio Storaro.
Unfortunately, the plot is a retread and the whole thing is much too talky.
Extremely disappointing, nonetheless, as this has elements for one of Allen's "good ones."

The Witnesses - 2021 - Germany

The Witnesses - 2021 - 6/10
AKA - 8 Zeugen

 
A 10 year old child is kidnapped in a busy museum, in front of eight witnesses.
Trouble is, each remembers events, and more importantly, descriptions, differently.
A “memory specialist” is brought in.  Whereupon, conflicting versions unspool.
Blend in individuals who conceal, data important or damning to themselves.
Promising concept relies on the crutch of the flawed investigator.
A manic depressive, one with Tourette syndrome, or Alzheimers, or divorcing, or dead!
The list goes to infinity, and I wish writers could discard this overused cliché.
Eight, half-hour episodes trot along, each layering a new clue or revelation.
The finale telegraphed the ending, at least for me, and I am not good at guessing.

The Sins Of Madame Bovary - 1969 - Germany

The Sins Of Madame Bovary - 1969 - 6/10
AKA - I Peccati di Madame Bovary

Florid adaptation dispenses with Charles' first marriage, courtship and marriage to Emma, and opens as Emma is already bored to tears with her unassuming provincial doctor husband.
And with poor country patients who pay with vegetable and chickens.
Those will not buy the gorgeous gowns and jewelry she eagerly desires.
Narrative is fairly faithful to Flaubert's masterpiece, and the film boasts stunning costumes, lavish interiors, lush outdoors.  In fact, I wondered if this was Technicolor (it was Eastmancolor).
Then there is Edwige Fenech, who plays Emma.

 
No dewy eyed ingenue here, the voluptuous Fenech exudes sensuality and experience.
Her wardrobe is sheer, or cascades to the floor easily, or is designed to highlight her twins.
To be honest, much as I enjoyed this version, she is a potent distraction.
And yet ... I can imagine many males asking,  "And your point?"

It’s Slade - 1999 - UK

It’s Slade - 1999 - 6/10

 
Roaring documentary of the premier Glam rockers of the 70's.
All band members appear (manager Chas Chandler, sadly RIP), along with guest heads Ozzy Osbourne, Suzi Quatro, Noel Gallagher.
Most of the story follows the rise of the group and one powerhouse hit after another.
Like Mr. Plant (another key singer from the 70’s), Noddy has been the one resisting reunions.
Glory days for Brit fans.  For Yanks, maybe not so much, as Slade never caught on in the States.
Echo of the mindless, hedonistic decade fading into the graveyard.

The Uninvited - 1944 - USA

The Uninvited - 1944 - 6/10

 
Cozy, old dark house mystery.
Look is part Gothic, part Noir.
House perches on cliff’s edge over pounding Cornish coast.
Critic and his sister buy on impulse, delighted the price was so reasonable!
First the dog, then cat, refuse to go upstairs.
Next, odd things occur after midnight.
Finally, and too late, the siblings ask the previous owner why the low price.
Enjoyable, if predictable, rainy night movie.
(For you fixer-upper types, the house had no phone, no electricity.)

Step - 2017 - USA

Step - 2017 - 7/10

 
Documentary about the step dance team from the Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women.
The squad, the Lethal Ladies, have never won the city competition, but they have a new coach.
Seniors struggle to get into college, deal with bad grades, difficult mothers, boys.
Feel good material is darkened by inner-city realities, as well as the understanding that the dream of college, for many, is just that.  A dream.
Camera zeroes in on a handful in the squad, leaving this viewer, at least, wondering about other faces.
Doc does not shy away from a few unpleasantries, but it does not dig deeper, either.
Perhaps because the subjects are minors.  As mentioned, feel good.

Supernova - 2020 - UK

Supernova - 2020 - 6/10

 
Road trip, character study, relationship crisis.
Sam and Tusker journey though rural England, visiting friends, family, and romantic haunts.
Trying to spark Tusker’s memories.  He suffers dementia, however, and cells slip away.
A long goodbye, with the unspoken anxiety about “what to do” before cognitive time expires.
An understated film, perhaps too much so.  Though going the over-emotional route seems worse.
There are numerous films on memory decline.  I have viewed most and I suspect all have similarities.

Triangle - 2009 - UK

Triangle - 2009 - 6/10

 
Three couples climb aboard the sailboat for a day of gentle waves and sea breezes.
Sooner than you can say,  “Hey, look at them dark clouds,” a squall smashes the ship to hell.
Fortunately, out of nowhere, an ocean liner appears.  Rescue!  Everyone climbs aboard.
Only the liner appears deserted.
Then the dying starts.
I despised the lead female character.  Whining, worrying, a mopey downer.
As the plot turns in odd directions, reasons for her behavior emerge.
Defying the dead teenager plot, this is a decent thriller with memorable scenes.

Nightcap - 2000 - France

Nightcap - 2000 - 7/10
AKA - Merci Pour le Chocolat

 
Film opens with second marriage between classical pianist and owner of major chocolate firm.
Scene shifts to two women at a cafe, greeting their engaged offspring.
Table talk, one mother slips the buried secret of a hospital mixup of two infants.
The engaged daughter, an aspiring pianist herself, wonders if the classical pianist is actually ...
Once she decides to visit, the unsettled narrative skims into thriller territory.
The men may be blissfully unaware, but the women have secrets and agendas.
Alert viewers, and this is an adult film, can sense the knives they grip behind their backs.

Beyond Terror - 1980 - Spain

Beyond Terror - 1980 - 6/10
AKA - Más Allá del Terror

The gang buys drugs, holds up a cafe, goes on a spree killing, flees into the countryside.
They find refuge in a crumbling monastery, which they soon desecrate.
As sins mount, so do consequences.

 
While this Spanish horror has its moments, it drags, looks cheap, suffers static camera work.
Nude sequences here and there, along with panting and thrusting, spark little interest.
Most of the confrontations are verbal, the gang are low watt losers.