Atami Police Investigators - 2010 - Japan

Atami Police Investigators - 2010 - 6/10
AKA - Atami no Sôsakan // 熱 海 の 捜 査 官

A bus carrying four schoolgirls disappears into the  fog along an empty stretch of road.
The vehicle is never found, police are stumped.

 
Three years later, one girl returns, soon the bus is found, events escalate.
Catalyst for events might be the arrival of two agents from the WAI.
J-dorama similar to one of the X-Files shaggy dog episodes.
Twin Peaks fans will identify the assortment of local oddballs and bizarre settings.

 
Leads and false trails grow at a dizzying pace.  The ceramics club fronts teen prostitutes.  The giant fish.  Why does one boy pose nude in the mostly girls school?  What is in that static filled cassette?  Where did the religious cult originate?
Musical score swings from choral arrangements to sleazy blues to elegant Satie.
Onion layer mystery, laced with very Japanese humor and irreverence.

Woman Despiser - 1967 - Turkey

Woman Despiser - 1967 - 6/10
AKA - Kadin Düsmani

 
A mask wearing killer prowls the streets of Istanbul.
Well, not prowls Caesar, because he goes indoors to kill females, before violation.
Police are on the case, but they suffer a surplus of suspects, including a creepy, heavily mustached man carrying a violin case.
The look is part Giallo, part high Gothic, part cheap TV.  Melodramatic acting.
No great shakes, yet oddly engrossing if only for the peculiarities.
For example, when one man invites a girl to go dancing, he takes her to a belly dance club.
Often, silhouettes are used, one gathers instead of supporting actors.
Then there is strange incest angle.  No!  Two incest angles.

If subs prove elusive, I reworked = https://subscene.com/subtitles/woman-despiser/english/2633313

Banksy Does New York - 2014 - USA

Banksy Does New York - 2014 - 7/10

 
Documentary on street artist Banksy’s 31 day guerrilla exhibition in and around New York City.
Each day, Banksy’s website offers a clue where the latest art or installment can be viewed.  Then it becomes a race, a scavenger hunt, to see the work before it disappears.
Displays get tagged, smashed, “appropriated,” or on one memorable afternoon, bought.
The press gets involved - adding to the publicity - as well as the mayor and police who announce they intend to catch Mr Banksy.  Good luck -- London was never able to do so.
Selected locations often deliberately provocative: within inner city blight or near trendy galleries frequented by the clueless, shallow wine n cheese crowd.
The growing media frenzy brings out the best and worst behavior in people.
As always, tour de force by the artist - or collective - known as Banksy.

Your Last Day On Earth - 2019 - Spain

Your Last Day On Earth - 2019 - 6/10
AKA - Tu último Día en la Tierra

 
Time travel for $75,000.  You can go back, for a limited period.
There are rules, such as you cannot touch or talk.  You cannot try to remain.  You must wear a disguise.
To see someone you lost, someone dear, would you?
SciFi short from Spain is provocative, and somewhat sad.

Heartbreaker - 2010 - France

Heartbreaker - 2010 - 5/10
AKA - L’ Arnacoeur

 
Featherweight French comedy, laughs lighter than an over-whipped soufflé.
Man, his sister and brother-in-law operate a small outfit designed to break apart unhappy couples.
Prevent the doe eyed innocent from marrying the cheat, the abuser, the jerk.
All’s fair.
Only rule - they do not break up happy relationships.
Before you can say, “that sounds ...”  the man owes thousands to a loan shark and a very juicy offer comes from a gangster type to stop his daughter’s upcoming marriage.
The engaged couple is deliriously happy, yet the heartbreaker needs the money.
Narrative not only thin and predictable, but more than a little creepy.
To learn about the fiancé, a lot of time is spent spying and stalking.
Cameras in bedroom and bathroom.  Nothing humiliating is actually shown, but if you think about it, someone was watching everything.
Fans of Romain Duris, he has better films out there.

White: Melody Of The Curse - 2011 - S Korea

White: Melody Of The Curse - 2011 - 5/10
AKA - Hwa-i-teu: Jeo-woo-eui Mel-lo-di // 화 이 트: 저 주 의 멜 로 디

 
Oft told story of one artist appropriating another’s creativity
This set in the K-Pop competitive sphere.
Pink Dolls have never broken big and face their last chance at success.
Backdancer Eun-joo finds a VHS labeled “White” of an unknown group, auditioning a catchy song.
Pink Dolls claim the song, update the arrangement and choreography, fight over who sings lead.
And then, one by one, disasters strike group members.
The music is hook laden, the girls are cute, but this is predictable Horror.
May work better for Asian pop buffs, or frighten ten year olds.

Parasyte: Part 2 - 2015 - Japan

Parasyte: Part 2 - 2015 - 6/10
Kiseijuu: Kanketsuhen // 寄 生 獣 完 結 編

 
A different, blacker film altogether, right down to the somber music.
The sequel is filled with action and carnage.
Younger characters have grown up.  Parasytes are trying to find a way to co-exist or conquer.
Humans have gotten wise to the parasites and unleash the firearms.
Once again, there are moral discussions about a given species “right to exist.”
(I recalled similar themes in 1985‘s Robotech, particularly the third section involving the Invid.  Japan has always struck me as a rather insular nation, so I wonder what was going on in the 80's there.)
Part 2 was more satisfying for me, the characters more assured, with less jokes.
Good cheer is replaced with violence.  Possibly an ugly ride for those expecting Part 1.

Parasyte: Part 1 - 2014 - Japan

Parasyte: Part 1 - 2014 - 6/10
AKA - Kiseijuu // 寄 生 獣

A silent invasion slithers into Japan.
Translucent, millipede like creatures burrow into ear canals, devour brains, take over human bodies.
Once in control, their appetite for fresh meat takes over.

 
High school boy, Shinichi Izumi, is only partially infected as parasyte, Migi, inserts into his hand instead of skull.
The two have arguments, petty and philosophical, embarrassing and ethical.
More light-hearted than anticipated, with awkward teenage behavior and youthful romance.
Based on a 1988 manga, which I have not read, so I have no idea how faithful this was.
Too juvenile for my taste, yet had memorable scenes throughout.

The Innocent - 2021 - Spain

The Innocent - 2021 - 6/10
AKA - El Inocente

 
Mateo (Mat) ought to study, but he goes with friends to a big bash instead.
Alcohol, flirty females, testosterone, leads to fighting, accidental death and Mat in prison.
Next episode, female detective Ortiz investigates the odd death of a nun.
Followed by the unexplained disappearance of Mat’s wife, Olivia.
While unrelated, these, and other storylines, slowly start to coalesce.
Strippers – sex parlors – blackmail – dirty authorities – murders, etc… etc… etc…
On and on, by the final two episodes, I was saying,  “Enough already, get to the point.”
Kitchen sink series with characters who generate no sympathy.

War Of The Stars II: The Future In Motion - 2013 - USA

War Of The Stars II: The Future In Motion - 2013 - 7/10

 
Fan-edited film.
Outstanding, highly inventive reworking of the path of Luke Skywalker by TMBTM.
Edit uses approximately 75% ESB and 25% ROTJ, but oh, what choices have been made.
Luke’s path now considerably darker.
The emotional problems that imperiled his father, are more pronounced in him.
The Ewoks are minimized, and there is more splatter.
Vader’s character is bent, whereas Boba Fett - man - his screen time and importance is doubled.
Deleted footage used, along with clever insertion of sequences from other films.
Music also modified, most notably the use of Holst’s “The Planets.”
Well worth hunting down for Star Wars fans who have “seen it all.”
Definitely the road not taken.
This - this - is an amazing example of how an inspired editor can utterly modify a film.

People - 2013 - UK

People - 2013 - 7/10

 
“…We can forget all our troubles, forget all our cares.  So go ...”  Petula

Theatre junkies, another gem from National Theatre Live.
Dorothy, the eldest, has inherited the family manor.
The estate is crumbling into ruin, however, and family fortunes are no longer what they were.
Circling round, are the vultures.
A shadowy concern representing wealthy buyers unknown, and the National Trust, wanting the manor for free!
Dorothy lives with companion Iris.  Both are aged, not yet frail, but sharply perceptive and mischievous.
The disgust at potentially endless tourists, sniffing looky-loos, leads to comical money raising efforts.
Bitter comedy about when the money runs dry, for them, for us.

Murder Backstage - 1960 - Greece

Murder Backstage - 1960 - 6/10
AKA - Eglima Sta Paraskinia // Εγκλημα στα Παρασκήνια

 
Fun Greek Noir.  Popular club beauty is killed in her dressing room.
Knife still inside, doors and windows locked.  Aha, locked room mystery!
Police interrogate performers and employees, jealous rivals and stage door johnnys.
Most of the actual investigating, however, comes from a newspaper owner.
Nosing for a scandal, or attempting to cover something up?
He bustles from swank nightclubs to strip joints to tenements, many still rubble after Nazi occupation.
Fast paced, photography full Noir, though dialogue is more light and playful.

 
Oh, and lest any Greek readers grow anxious, the strip dancer is an Italian import, since no good Greek girl would ever take her clothes off with the lights on.  Perish the thought!

Three “drug” films from the Silent era. 1912-1916 - USA

Sure, kid, why do you think they call it dope?

Three “drug” films from the Silent era.

For His Son - 1912 - 6/10

 
D W Griffith warns against the dangers of cola, especially DopoKoke.
An entrepreneur adds cocaine to his cola drink, hoping to leave a healthy business to his son.
Sales are robust, including those to the son who becomes addicted.
Note - At one time, Coca-Cola’s recipe included 9 milligrams of cocaine per 7 ounce bottle.
Although the amount gradually diminished, Coke did not become cocaine free until 1929.

The Devil’s Needle - 1916 - 6/10

 
Artist, in search of inspiration, borrows his model’s needle.
Wow, does that pep up the old vigor!
In no time flat, he is addicted, impoverished, and all but raving.
Slow beginning, and actor Tully Marshall is too old for the women who are attracted to him.
Norma Talmadge fine as model.  In fact, I usually see her as stuffy or starchy and she is warm and funny here.
Imaginative scene (above) of buzzed artist staring into fireplace, seeing pixies.

The Mystery Of The Leaping Fish - 1916 - 7/10

 
One of the funniest drug movies.
Douglas Fairbanks, as detective Coke Ennyday, consumes enough controlled substances to put him in company with Keith Richards and Mötley Crüe.
The leaping fish are inflatable fish, enjoyed by beach-goers riding the waves.
Police and Coke investigate dope smuggling, as well, although Mr Ennyday probably won’t turn any confiscated powder over to the evidence room.
Pace is frantic, with a stream of jokes and visual gags.  Story by Tod Browning.  
I still find it amazing this survives, let alone was made in the first place.

Prison Break - 1969 - Japan

Prison Break - 1969 - 6/10
AKA - Mushyô Yaburi  // ムショ 破り

 
Makato enters a yakuza den to kill the man who murdered his father.
After a bloodbath, he flees to Osaka.  Period, the 1920’s.
Another yakuza, who had assisted him, invites Makoto to join their organization.
Which is beset by a rising, stronger, hungrier group.
At times austere ninkyô (code of honor) punctuated with lengthy blade fights.
Impressive fight cinematography, a stark, moody score, and a fatalistic tone.
Somewhat obscure Japanese film worthwhile for chambara or yakuza fans.

Begin Again - 2013 - USA

Begin Again - 2013 - 7/10

 
Two broken souls meet, help each other stand, then run.
Both are bruised artists, victims of commercialization over integrity.
Keira Knightley plays the dumped girlfriend (and songwriter) of singer boyfriend, who is catching fire.
Mark Ruffalo pitch perfect as music exec, once edgy, once influential, now living in failure.
Exquisite location filming in New York as the two record, guerrilla style, in subway, in Central Park, in alleys.
Music is quite good, by the way.  Knightley sings her own.  Her voice, somewhere between twee and shoegaze, is well suited to her character and songs.
Not a love story, but a tale of redemption.  Great date film, nevertheless.