The Mysterians - 1957 - Japan

The Mysterians - 1957 - 6/10
AKA - Chikyū Bōeigun //  地球防衛軍

Vintage invasion film from Toho!
Earth (Japan) gets invaded by denizens from Mysteroid, planet five, between Mars and Jupiter.
Give yourself a gold star if you’re going,  “Wait a minute, there ain’t no ...”
Thanks to war between themselves, Mysteroid blew itself up and only Asteroid Belt rubble remains.
First inkling of the invasion occurs when Moguera, a clumsy, giant robot, lumbers from the woods and starts wrecking neighboring villages and then troops.

 
Then the big ole white dome erupts out of the landscape near Mr Fuji and the Mysterians start making demands.
They want two square miles of land for themselves.
And women.
Leaders can shrug off the land grab, but seizing womenfolk?
War!
Big budget SciFi with impressive effects (for 1957), mattes, miniatures, interiors, and great score.

Who Are You, Polly Maggoo? - 1966 - France

Who Are You, Polly Maggoo? - 1966 - 6/10
AKA - Qui êtes-vous, Polly Maggoo?

 
Brittle satire of haute couture of the mid 60's.
The poses, impossible materials, sniffy (snippy) reviewers.
By turns laugh out loud funny, then maddeningly tedious.
Trendy fashion model Polly is interviewed, then her banal life fact-checked.
Truth to tell, she is neither compelling nor thoughtful.
Vacuous character, example where God placed all her gifts on the outside, nothing within.
Will not be for all tastes.
I watched with fashion hounds who provided a running commentary throughout.

Desperate Moment - 1953 - UK

Desperate Moment - 1953 - 6/10

Postwar Germany, a Dutch man falsely confesses to killing a British soldier.
Once sentenced and locked away, he realizes he may have been set up.
During a security lapse, he escapes and begins searching for the real killer.
Authorities pursue, and his face is brandished about.
He can only rely on his girl, and hope she does not betray him.

 
A few years earlier, there was an essay in Noir City Annual on “rubble Noir.”
This definitely qualifies, as most of the exteriors are in bombed out Berlin.
Cat and mouse angle is done well, if somewhat predictable.

Marrowbone - 2017 - UK

Marrowbone - 2017 - 6/10

 
Family flees England for the States under mysterious circumstances.
They spend a memorable summer, but Mom, already ill, succumbs with the fall.
Ever so gradually, the mystery is teased out until you wonder if the children actually escaped.
As you realize the dilapidated house may well be haunted, or their pursuer has caught them.
While this has a timeless look, the time seems 1950's (judging from cars and clothes).
Film is overlong and feels it.  Acting is fine, characters are not compelling, however.

Cold Eyes - 2013 - S Korea

Cold Eyes - 2013 - 5/10
AKA - Gamshijadeul  //  감시자들

 
Shameless, scene for scene S Korean remake of Eye In The Sky (HK - 2007).
Tightly synchronized gang executes daring daylight robberies, foiling hundreds of surveillance cameras.
Special security branch gets involved, and begins sifting the slimmest of clues.
Straight faced, high tech glossy, slick as all can be, but not necessarily better than the Hong Kong original.
Lacks any sense of humour, and the characters are little more than faces.
Watch for nice cameo by Simon Yam near the end.

Stucco - 2019 - USA

Stucco - 2019 - 6/10

More and more, day by day, she becomes a recluse, shut-in.
Talking via phone or internet, deliveries to her locked door.
Agoraphobia poster child.
Then she tries to hang a painting and punches a hole in the sheetrock.

 
Soon thereafter, slitherings emerge.
Visually arresting short resembles a drugged out bad trip.
Much of this is dreamlike and may appeal to the cult of Ligotti.
I think Covid lockdown sufferers will relate, as well.

Polina - 2016 - France

Polina - 2016 - 7/10
AKA - Polina, Danser sa Vie

 
Young Polina (I'd guess eight or nine) passes the enrollment tryouts for prestigious training school.
Her home life mixes with rigorous teachings until she auditions with the Bolshoi.
At this point, the story, which was following a predictable path, takes the unforeseen turn.
Polina starts a "personal" journey into unknown territory which puts her into conflicts.
For dance enthusiasts, this goes beyond the typical suffering for art reruns.
Great dance sequences, a broad display of styles, and a rich range of influences.
Juliette Binoche, with no formal dance training, does an impressive turn as choreographer / dancer.

300: Rise Of An Empire - 2013 - USA

300: Rise Of An Empire - 2013 - 5/10

 
Not quite as good as 300, but good enough, I suppose.
Narrative runs parallel to the Spartans, finally shifting to the big battle at Salamis.
Beware, if you are watching this for Greek history class.
Hordes of attractive, bare chested males (mostly the CG breed) scream and slash in a bluish world.
Other than some female warriors, nothing new for this sequel.
Not a bad film, merely the over reliance on action.
Enjoyed it for what it was - midnight popcorn.

All The Devils Are Here - 2021 - USA

All The Devils Are Here - 2021 - 7/10

 
Sly villains come and huddle round.  Thou blackest voices art here granted sound.
Patrick Page gives an absorbing one-man play, check listing the scoundrels of Shakespeare.
From the early, smiling treachery of Richard III to the conflicted, emotionally fraught Macbeth.
Part acting masterclass, part history lesson.
Page enacts and explains how Shakespeare progressively gave his fiends more complexity, sympathy, humanity.
All the players fade with time.  Statesman, soldier, peasant, meek or sublime.  Bombast and prattle fade into naught.
Theatre junkies, forgather!

The Color Of Lies - 1999 - France

The Color Of Lies - 1999 - 7/10
AKA - Au Coeur du Mensonge  (The Heart of the Lie)

Ten year old Eloise finishes her art lesson and walks home.
Next scene, two other children find her dead in the woods,
Police subsequently discover she had been molested.
The last person to see her had been her art teacher, a respected painter suffering a career impasse.
Marital problems are suggested and a celebrity writer pursues the wife.
Parallel with the murder investigation, the police tackle a string of robberies.

 
While locals never voice inflamed accusations, the new inspector clearly eyes the artist.
Claude Chabrol film is a clinical study of lies, secrets, and the confined village.
Not a nail biter thriller, but a psychological mystery, filled with clues and deceptive individuals.

Doll House - 2014 - S Korea

Doll House - 2014 - 5/10
AKA - Inhyeong-ui Jib // 인형의 집

 
Jeez Louise, did it really take me eighteen months to watch this 12 episode K-drama?
Shows how involved I was.
Young 20ish girl answers ad for light duty job at residence.
She has to wear schoolgirl uniform, pigtail her hair, and pretend to be a daughter.
What happened to the daughter in question?
Then she discovers there have been impersonators before her!  What happened to them?
Mystery with enough suspense to unsettle teenage viewers.  Maybe.

For the curious, you could easily watch the whole series in barely over an hour..
Each installment runs 6-8 minutes, including opening & closing credits and a preview of next week.

Bastards - 2013 - France

Bastards - 2013 - 7/10
AKA - Les Salauds

 
Existential French Noir, grim and fatalistic.
Seaman summoned home after brother-in-law commits suicide.
Niece has been raped to the point of requiring repair surgery.
Sister shoves him toward vengeance.
Filmed mostly in gloomy interiors or at night.
Minimal dialogue, unusual for a French flick.
Physical similarity between sister and “villain’s” wife add to confusion.
Limited exposition, viewer on his/her own to grasp roles and backstory.
Typical of Noir, the deeper the seaman digs, the filthier and uglier the truth.

Cowards Bend The Knee - 2003 - Canada

Cowards Bend The Knee - 2003 - 6/10

Hold tight, pilgrim.
After Guy leads the hockey team to a win, his girlfriends informs him she is pregnant.
He immediately takes her to the beauty salon.
Well, it’s a beauty shop by day.  By night, it is a brothel.  And in the rear is an abortion room.
While the girlfriend suffers a hideous procedure, Guy catches the eye of the brothel madam’s daughter, Meta.

 
And Meta, man, she is something else.  This becomes her tale of obsession, as Guy is a classic fool.
Silent film, in and out of focus, repeated sequences, fragmented music score.
There is a narrative, though this leans heavily toward experimental cinema.
Challenging Guy Maddin film, aimed at hardcore arthouse cineastes.

American Hustle - 2013 - USA

American Hustle - 2013 - 6/10

 
Man, I was looking forward to this.  Thinking it would be like Boogie Nights.
Nope.
Odd interpretation of the AbScam sting, where politicos took bribes for influence.
FBI coerces low level hustlers to run the scam.
Main FBI handler displays less intelligence than my cat, other agents little more than career chasers.

 
Fashion seemed right.  There weren’t enough drugs, music was incorrect.
Noticing crap like that kept yanking me out of the flow.
Plus, having heard and read so much ballyhoo, my expectations were unreasonable.

Music For Misfits: The Story Of Indie - 2015 - UK

Music For Misfits: The Story Of Indie - 2015 - 7/10

 
Exhilarating three part series tracks the rise of UK indie music from the 70's into mainstream acceptance by 2000.
Tiny labels, obscure groups with new sounds, naive yet enthusiastic entrepreneurs.
And fans.  Fans who were tired of Corporate Rock and glossy, talentless pretenders foisted upon them.
Interviews with band members, label reps, journalists, shop owners, all older and wiser.
The whole, do-it-yourself, seat of your pants struggles.  Stories are funny and often telling.
Most try to avoid rosy eyed nostalgia, the trap of only recalling the sunshine.
Terrific soundtrack, to be sure, with dozens of concert clips.
Essential for music fans.