Death Laid An Egg - 1968 - Italy

Death Laid An Egg - 1968 - 7/10
AKA - La Morte ha Fatto l'uovo  //  Plucked

 
Marco is hiding a secret.  If we work together, we can find out what it is.
So muses wife Anna to her cousin Gabrielle.
And Marco does have a nasty secret, shown early on as he commits a murder.
One is yanked off trail immediately, though, as the settings unroll.
Anna (a sultry Gina Lollobrigida) owns a chicken plant, which she has modernized and fired all the men.
Marco (Jean-Louis Trintignant, really?) works for the chicken consortium, trying to encourage people to eat more poultry.
There are endless shots of chickens, chicken reactions, chicken protestations.  And eggs.
Some give this a Giallo tag, but this is a bizarre arthouse mystery / thriller.
I enjoyed this immensely, but will warn that others might find this way too weird.

Maigret’s Dead Man - 2016 - UK

Maigret’s Dead Man - 2016 - 6/10

 
Man, what a pleasant surprise.
Paris, circa 1930's.  Rowan Atkinson returns as the dour Inspector Maigret.
A serial killer terrorizes the French countryside.
Maigret loans most of his crew to assist, yet withholds two assistants and himself for an unrelated underworld killing.
This show is more assured than Maigret Sets A Trap as actors grow into roles.
In many ways, this is a darker story with a more intricate plot.
If you liked the first installment, you should like this.

Maigret Sets A Trap - 2016 - UK

Maigret Sets A Trap - 2016 - 6/10

 
A serial killer stalks brunettes on the streets of Montmartre.
The chief inspector, an analytical cold fish, has a plan.
An English production, filmed in Hungary, this is handsome.
There is limited character development, however.  No idea at all who any of the victims are.
For a murder mystery, there is no tension, no suspense, no clue chasing.
Interesting to see Rowen Atkinson as Maigret.  He underplays nicely, though I wish he had more fire.

50M2 - 2021 - Turkey

50M2 - 2021 - 7/10
AKA - (Fifty Square Meters)

 
Shadow has a falling out with his boss, a businessman / gangster.
While Shadow was his #1 enforcer, no one is indispensable.
After surviving a botched hit job, Shadow hides himself in small shop in a run down quarter.
Where residents soon assume he is the son of the recently deceased tailor.
He has unique abilities to deal with neighborhood blight and small time chiselers.
The larger adversary is the property developer, bullying, badgering, misleading.
Writing is sharp throughout, in this surprisingly funny dark tinged series.
How dark?  The final episode goes full Noir, filmed at night, simmering tensions released.
Unfortunately, this is a Netflix show, with a Netflix non-ending.
While I would be inclined to view S02, I would have to wait to read comments to see if inspiration remained.

Goltzius And Pelican Company - 2012 - UK

Goltzius And Pelican Company - 2012 - 6/10

 
Serious arthouse territory here.
Peter Greenaway film.  Those uninitiated to Mr Greenaway, beware.
In look and visual overload, this is much closer to Prospero’s Book rather than Cook, Thief, Wife, Lover.
17th century dramatist, scribe, bookbinder Goltzius approaches the Margrave of Alsace with the aim of illustrated book publication.
The first book will from the Old Testament, focusing on the salacious, the wicked, the steamy parables.
The Margrave asks to see the stories acted out first by Goltzius’ troupe, which they do - sans clothes.
As with other Greenaway films, there is copious nudity, full frontal, male and female.
Saturated colors, overlapping images, dense dialogue, multiple storylines, not to mention Biblical references and reenacting parables as pornography may be a challenging watch for some.

Skinhead - 2016 - UK

Skinhead - 2016 - 6/10

 
Oi!  Oi!  Oi!
Well before the Oi culture, Neo-Nazis, and yob association, London skinheads were kicking boots with Jamaican mates, swaying to reggae and ska, shouting at football matches.
At the matches, however, Northern firms spied and appropriated the cuts, boots, jackets, but not the tolerance.
Informative documentary shows the 60's beginnings of shaved heads, the near disappearance, the Punk associations, then catching the eye of the National Front.
For those who think they know Skinhead culture, they probably don’t.
Thanks to Mr Crisp for suggesting this.

Operation Valkyrie: Stauffenberg’s Plot To Kill Hitler - 2008 - USA

Operation Valkyrie: Stauffenberg’s Plot To Kill Hitler - 2008 - 6/10

 
Documentary on botched 1944 assassination attempt on Hitler.
Sections on Stauffenberg”s childhood, personal life, military career are fine.
Background on the conspirators, failed attempts, and the historical perspective during the latter years of the war are clear and well presented.
Some reenactments, but not too much.  Likewise for the CGI, primitive, limited, yet not excessive.
“Talking heads,” by and large, are poorly miked throughout.
At 76 minutes, this feels a bit long, and the first third is too slow.

The Rewrite - 2014 - USA

The Rewrite - 2014 - 6/10

 
Being a tad generous here, scoring a 6 for stale goods.
Hugh Grant plays washed up Hollywood screenwriter who accepts teaching position in upstate New York.
He is supposed to select his class by reading over 100 thirty page screenplays.
Instead he checks social profiles and chooses a room full of hotties and two male geeks.
No competition then, for him in his role of Lord Of The Thighs.
A series of glaring social faux pas alienates fellow instructors and students.  (All that rang false and forced.)
Though technically in the rom com genre, this is lightweight in romance and comedy.

Three Swings On A Pendulum - 1967 - UK

Three Swings On A Pendulum - 1967 - 6/10

 
Listed as a documentary, this is a peculiar artifact from Swinging London.
Three outsiders, an Aussie, a Frenchman, an African, row up the Thames into the capital.
They explore several shops (this screams for color), chat with the locals.
The reserved English open up and are surprisingly forthright.
Older folks enjoy the 60’s moment, London as Zeitgeist.
Younger, more thoughtful interviewees, regard the time as passing.
Mass adoption of hairstyles, fashions, merely another method of conformity.
Again, this is a curio, and not an in-depth overview of the heady era.

Seisaku's Wife - 1965 - Japan

Seisaku's Wife - 1965 - 7/10
AKA - Seisaku no Tsuma  //  清作の妻

 
Back from military training, Seisaku is the village’s righteous man, the role model.
As such, admired, respected, and disliked and equal measures.
Of all girls available, he chooses the lovely Okane, whom villagers shun as a harlot.
Theirs is a hothouse relationship, possessive and obsessive.
While the Russo-Japanese War washes ever closer, villagers hope Seisaku enjoys a glorious death.
Measured study of petty village behavior and the madness of love.

Stella Runs For Office - 2002 - Iceland

Stella Runs For Office - 2002 - 6/10
AKA - Stella í Frambðdi

 
Odd, to say the least, political comedy from Iceland.
The leading party watch and giggle as rivals repeatedly sabotage themselves.
Until campaign advisor Stella emerges as a darkhorse contender.
Weirdly funny film with out of place music interludes:
A woman plucking a chicken while listening to “Sway,” two blue collar guys dancing to “Big Spender,” the drunken inspector seizing the microphone in a revue.
Many laugh out loud moments.  Other times, I knew I was missing jokes and references.
Definitely not Scandinavian Noir.
Quirky - foreign - way off the path.

Magic In The Moonlight - 2014 - USA

Magic In The Moonlight - 2014 - 6/10

 
Woody Allen film set in 1928 Europe.
Colin Firth plays magician asked to debunk a female mentalist / hoaxer.
Mentalist is quite pretty and an uneasy romance beckons.
Picture Houdini wooing a Zeigfield Follies girl.
Gorgeous sets, costumes, vintage music.
The 1928 date was a loaded time utterly ignored (Wall Street Crash was 1929 - Hitler became chancellor in 1933).
Likewise the realization that this entire world of gardens and country houses is a breath away from extinction.
Plot remains feather light throughout.
Not to spoil anything, but the narrative faltered in the third act.  Badly.
Before that misstep I had been enjoying the movie.
At its core, keep in mind, this is a magic show.
Magic insiders, Allen delivers a successful pledge, a very poor turn, and no prestige.

The Sleepers - 2019 - Czech Republic

The Sleepers - 2019 - 8/10
AKA - Bez Vědomí

 
Top notch espionage thriller set in Prague, 1989, as the revolution is imminent.
Maria wants to visit her sister in Czechoslovakia, husband Victor is less keen.
After all, they fled as dissidents years ago.  What could happen?  asks Maria.
A traffic accident could happen, with Maria waking up with no husband.
From there, she contacts the British embassy, Czech security, none with answers.
Clouding her search further are agents of the KGB and StB (Secret Police).
Narrative twists and turns, most characters are determinedly miserable.
Realpolitik predominates.

The Woman Executioner - 1968 - France

The Woman Executioner - 1968 - 6/10
AKA - La Femme Bourreau

 
Tempted to score this higher, for the strangeness factor.
Surreal Expressionistic film of man who copycats a serial killer.
Confused, abused man begins affair with his therapist / parole officer.
He also identifies with a recently executed female serial killer and starts wearing with wigs and heels.
Film is loaded with jump cuts and the narrative often leaps.
The result is borderline incoherence, yet it has a great score and the “look” is particularly striking.
For you cult buffs, Jean Rollin was in the acting credits.

October Gale - 2014 - Canada

October Gale - 2014 - 6/10

 
Recently widowed doctor goes to her remote family cottage out on an island.
Grieves, tidies up, reminisces.
Twenty minutes into the film, she sees an intruder crawling across the floor, gunshot wound to his shoulder.
Who shot him?  Why?  How did he get to the remote island?  In the middle of a storm, no less.
Thriller, only in the loosest sense as the plot plods along with limited tension.
Smart looking photography, minimal dialogue, low-key characters with underdeveloped motivations.
Story never goes anywhere, and watching seems more killing time.

An Evening With Miriam Margolyes - 2021 - UK

An Evening With Miriam Margolyes - 2021 - 6/10

 
Miriam shares the stage with Simon Callow at the Alexandra Palace.
She is hawking her new biography, he is interviewing.
Callow has read the book, or he has been well prepared as questions are pertinent.
Upbringing, school, training, outrageous incidents.
Interesting, though not compelling.
Callow, somewhat difficult to read, deploys a stock laugh, whether amused or uncomfortable,
Second half, Margolyes answers audience questions (from knowledgeable to humorous to asinine).

Ladies They Talk About - 1933 - USA

Ladies They Talk About - 1933 - 6/10

 
Barbara Stanwyck in Pre-Code women in prison flick.
Moll used as decoy while gang pulls off bank heists.
Only she gets caught and sent to the slammer.
San Quentin seems nicer than most caged women pens.
The matron and wardens are no-nonsense, but sympathetic.
Jailbirds listen to records, read, play cards.  Hardest duty is laundry.
Stanwyck displays gentle and rotten streaks side by side.
Her loyalty to her old gang is paramount, though, which places her outside redemption.
At barely an hour, the film is loaded with plotlines, twists, romance, and razor edged dialogue.
For all that, not essential Pre-Code.

A Curtain Raiser - 2006 - France

A Curtain Raiser - 2006 - 6/10
AKA - Un Lever de Rideau

 
One act short of youthful miscommunication and fateful decisions.
“Bean-counter” boyfriend starts tallying how many minutes and hours his girlfriend has kept him waiting.
Most disrespectful, he concludes, while complaining to an older friend.
The more experienced male tries to offer advice, suggesting patience and dialogue.
The girl arrives - 45“ late - and the boyfriend’s resolution is sorely tested.
Thirty minute film, while elegantly staged, may tire impatient viewers.
For more curious souls, an easy introduction to director François Ozon.

Lips Of Blood - 1975 - France

Lips Of Blood - 1975 - 7/10
AKA - Lèvres de Sang

 
Moody, atmospheric, dreamlike Horror film is a must for Jean Rollin fans.
A man sees a photo of a ruined caste, which triggers a childhood memory of an encounter.
He starts inquiring about the castle, the photo, and finds opposition to his search.
After a trip to the city tombs, he unleashes four female vampires, nude save for the sheerest fabric imaginable.
Most of this was filmed at night in a cemetery, urban wastelands, and underground.
Rollin’s films always have a measured pace, but he has a photographer’s eye for details.
As vampires, the ladies are fairly laughable, especially when the teeth appear.
Most will gaze through the fabric, however, I daresay.
A rewarding film.  Novices, be warned, this is close to arthouse.
Prudes - nudity galore.

Open Your Eyes - 2021 - Poland

Open Your Eyes - 2021 - 5/10
AKA - Otwórz Oczy

She wakes in the hospital bed.  What happened?  Where am I?  Wait a minute … who am I?
Another day in the amnesia clinic for Julia.
An exclusive center, where all patients are young and talented.  Gifted.
Also tightly watched and controlled.

 
Two episodes set up characters, stories, and the “surveillance village” concept.
Followed by three episodes where everyone twirls their thumbs.
Padding.  Trying to make characters with the personalities of potatoes seem intriguing.
Then the last episode, where the plot is shuffled, and is suddenly interesting.
Why didn’t writers do this from the beginning?  Why?  Because they were told to deliver a Netflix ending.
Meaning, there ain’t no ending.  Producers hope for a S02 for a series with more fat than an elephant seal.
Dull writing, weighted down with zombie actors.

What If? - 2013 - Canada

What If? - 2014 - 7/10

 
Tart romantic comedy.
Couple meet at a party, chat, drift away, but leave together so he walks her home.
She doesn’t invite him inside, advising her boyfriend will be so worried.
Instead, she writes down her phone number and says “call me.”
Oh yeah, whatever.
Still, being squarely in the romantic genre, they do succumb to natural attraction and become buddies.
On each other’s friend shelf.
Dialogue driven film, rather clever dialogue, with characters who are career professionals, who don’t want to cause or inflict emotional carnage, but who also don’t want to miss out on the real thing.
Good date film.  Know thyself, though.  These are not giggling twenty year olds, nor is the film aimed at that crowd.