Parallel Mothers - 2021 - Spain

Parallel Mothers - 2021 - 7/10
AKA - Madres Paralelas

 
Two unmarried women meet at the maternity clinic.
Babies are born, then BOTH infants need to be placed under observation.
Afterward, a growing unease develops as to whether the right babies are with the right mothers.
Complications compound matters.
Terrific Almodóvar film also has ongoing story of excavation of unmarked graves.
While skirted deftly, this subplot simmers in the background.
At times, there is a Hitchcock feel to this.

Miss Mend - 1926 - Soviet Union

Miss Mend - 1926 - 6/10
AKA - Мисс Менд

 
Four hour, Silent serial from Soviet Union.  Three, long-as-hell chapters that should have been chopped to 12.
Miss Mend is a typist who witnesses a strike over at the Rocfeller Cork Factory!  
Also watching are members of the press:  journalist, photographer, office boy.
Male trio is box o rocks dumb (call ‘em Dimwit, Halfwit, and Nitwit) but the yarn is more them, less Mend.
The group get mixed up with this rich swell who wants to donate his fortune to the Bolsheviks.
However, a powerful Capitalist agency wants to thwart him.
Worse, massacre thousands of innocent Russians!
Story - mostly set in (CCCP’s version of) the US of A - is fast moving but jumps all over kingdom come.
Good luck keeping track of motivations and who’s on which side.
Fairly casual death count in this, without flinching from suffering the smallest.

Ghosts Or Fantasms - 2005 - Germany

Ghosts Or Fantasms - 2005 - 6/10
AKA - Gespenster

 
Troubled teenage girl, doing community service, watches an older girl beaten by two men.
The chance encounter leads to bonding - sort of.
The older girl is harder, manipulative and demanding.  The younger girl had dreamed of the older one, and there is now a sense of wish fulfillment and projection.
Secondary plot follows a middle aged women, recently released from a medical institution, who searches for the child she lost over a decade earlier.
A girl who would be just about the same age as the young protagonist.
The movie, while filmed in hard light, has a dreamlike quality to it.
One could view any or all of the character comments or histories as real - or fantasies.
Likewise the characters themselves.

Sex Of The Witch - 1973 - Italy

Sex Of The Witch - 1973 - 5/10
AKA - Il Sesso Della Strega

 
The family scion lies dying, expectant heirs ringing his deathbed.
With his final gasp, however, he prophesies the demise of the family, those around him.
Baffling erotic Gothic flirts with a plot occasionally, in between sex romps.
A trippy orgy, a three-way, one bounce is a boffin in the coffin.
The “look” harks to Giallo, but it dispenses with the usual tropes.
For example, male victims outnumber female.
While the guiding hand of the family devil can be seen, the moral might be one of the meek inheriting.
That’s my guess.  Like I said, this is confusing throughout.
Also a snoozer.

Lo And Behold - 2016 - USA

Lo And Behold - 2016 - 5/10

 
Rare misfire, at least for me. from Werner Herzog.
Interesting opening about the start of the Internet.  And no - no Al Gore claiming credit.
Then Herzog hops about from inter-connections, privacy issues, security problems, megalomaniacs ...
Topics have been covered in numerous documentaries, and better, too.
This is watered down Readers Digest.
One particular section was of some folks “allergic” to radio waves, living in West Virginia.
Kicking back, playing ole timey bluegrass.
Completely out of place - that dog don’t hunt.
Another odd speculation - does the Internet dream of itself?  If so, does your fridge?
Of course, this could be Mr Herzog's peculiar sense of humor.

Danny Collins - 2015 - USA

Danny Collins - 2015 - 6/10

 
Al Pacino as aging / elder pop music icon.
Think Neil Diamond or Sir Cliff.
For a birthday gift, his manager (a very dry, Christopher Plummer) finds a vintage fan letter that somehow never made it into Danny’s hands.
From one John Lennon.  What do you think of that, Danny Collins?
This has a profound impact, as the singer wonders how much of the artist he sacrificed in pursuit of popularity and wealth.
He sets about getting his life in order.  Writing his own songs - reaching out to his estranged son.
Feel good territory, but not too over the top.
I am not a Pacino fan, but he is better here than in most of his films.
His usual shouting and yelling mannerisms to get his points across are absent in this one.

Nostalghia - 1983 - Soviet Union

Nostalghia - 1983 - 7/10

 
Joint Italian/Russian film of Russian poet living in Italy, researching a book on an obscure Russian composer.
He daydreams about the wife he left behind.  Or is she dead?
He and his translator ponder the village idiot, a rambling old man and his dog.
Rain pours most of the time, everything seems shrouded in fog.
The beautiful blonde Italian translator wants to bear a baby.  Maybe.  Perhaps she laments an abortion.
Multiple meanings abound, as do veiled narratives.
Positive reviewers noted one needs to watch this numerous times to appreciate.  Negative reviews point out how dull and ponderous this seems.
This is not one I “enjoyed,” and I struggle to “appreciate” it.
Thirty years ago, I paid good money to see arthouse fare, only to exit afterward thinking myself shallow and stupid.
Now, older and more jaded, I still consider myself shallow, struggling to penetrate the obliqueness of Tarkovsky’s vision.

Denial - 2016 - UK

Denial - 2016 - 7/10

 
Drama of Holocaust writer, Deborah Lipstadt, vs Holocaust denier, David Irving.
Fairly accurate retelling of the seeds of the conflict, legal strategies, then the case before the High Court.
Weisz as Lipstadt, irritating throughout. Impulsive, easily baited, rubber-necking during proceedings.
Her portrayal feels “based on”.   Writer’s heavy hand or directorial flourish.
Other than her version, everyone else excelled.

I had finished with an extremely lengthy “revisionist” documentary so was familiar with Irving and many of his assertions.
Unsettling notion that history can be utterly rewritten, especially as society loses cognitive function.

 

 

Tight Spot - 1955 - USA

Tight Spot - 1955 - 6/10

 
Middle-aged jailbird Sherry (a wise-cracking Ginger Rogers) is given a chaperoned furlough from the slammer.
The pitch?  How’d she like to testify against an old associate?
Oh yeah, others who had tried, had been whacked, despite police protection.
Edward G. Robinson, Brian Keith, even Lorne Greene as a ferocious crime boss, everyone seems to coast.
Perhaps the script is to blame.
Proceedings feel contrived, and the ending(s) had me going from “really?” to “please!”.

The Diplomatic Pouch - 1927 - Soviet Union

The Diplomatic Pouch - 1927 - 6/10
AKA - Sumka Dipkuryera

Silent Soviet espionage thriller set in the Soviet's version of England, then afloat the steamer, Victoria.
A diplomatic bag, meant for the Bolsheviks, is being furiously sought by Police Inspector White
(undoubtedly a word play on the Reds enemy, the White faction).

 
Cat n mouse struggles play out inside the confines of cramped and claustrophobic ship.
The villains of the piece, the British secret police, will stop at nothing to intercept the documents.
In their way are the stalwart, Soviet seaman.  Comrades united against capitalist dogs.

 
The first twenty minutes of the film are considered lost, though you can pick up the narrative easily enough.
Imaginative, expressionistic camera work (director Dovzhenko plays the stoker), energetic music score.
Preachy and dated, but taut and enjoyable, nevertheless.

Note:  The film is easy enough to locate, but subtitles are another matter.
Most subs are for the 70 minute film, though all existing prints are 50 minutes.
Go here for more or less proper subtitles – https://subscene.com/subtitles/sumka-dipkuryera/

I resynced the timings, corrected grammar, spelling, and changed some words to clarify the inter-titles.
If anyone who can read Cyrillic wants to suggest an improvement, please advise.

The Tenant Of Wildfell Hall - 1996 - UK

The Tenant Of Wildfell Hall - 1996 - 6/10

 
Glossy three-parter of the Anne Brontë novel.
Widow moves to tiny hamlet, small son in tow.  Also closet skeletons and unspoken baggage.
Village gossip quckly turns malicious and she is shunned by all save a yeoman who is attracted to her.
Secrets are shown in flashback of the horrors the widow fled from.
Most of the characters are brutish, vicious and given to vice.
This is a moral tale, with a suffering, albeit strong, female character.
Finely done, but those seeking another Pemberley, beware.

Kaleidoscope - 1966 - UK

Kaleidoscope - 1966 - 6/10

 
Warren Beatty as wealthy guy who gambles / cheats because he can.
He takes a shine to Susannah York and shows her the town, err, the world.
The pair have zero chemistry, the largest, yet certainly not the only flaw with this film.
1966, the height of Swinging London – you wouldn’t guess that from this stodgy pot.
Filled with gambling sequences that extend too long, becoming tiresome.
Beatty, perhaps miscast in this, would strike gold in his next outing.  Bonnie And Clyde.

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me - 1992 -Fanedits

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me - 1992 - NA

Two fanedits that extend FWWM as much as possible.
Straight off, I am absolutely NOT the Lynch guy.
After the mess of S02, Twin Peaks, the show was canceled, and Fire Walk With Me was judged incomprehensible.

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me: Teresa Banks and the Last Seven Days of Laura Palmer - Q2

Q2 refashioned FWWM with deleted scenes, outtakes, to better follow Lynch’s vision. Maybe. With Lynch, one never knows.
Some of the material was never remastered, so one cannot judge against video defects.
Sound design in FWWM is dazzling.  From tiny sounds to noise to the hypnotic roadhouse band.

Regarding the narrative, I am convinced there is a tight story in here, but an extended version just pumps more fog into the confusion.
FBI subplots seem meaningless to the plot. Just Lynch ridiculing them.
The extended narrative wanders aimlessly for over an hour, then it locks in and grows inspired. The sound mix, the brooding tone, the fatalistic dread. A one-way Noir ticket to Hell.
By the end of the film, there was more here I liked than disliked. I will also be the first to admit hard core Twin Peaks fans will revel in this extended edition.

* *

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me: Extended Blue Rose - igorleoni

 
This is the second edit I have watched, which attempts to reinsert missing footage into Lynch’s “feature”.
With this director, I am never sure of anything.  I find him more  maddening than Herzog.
Anyway, the first section of this plays out like amateur, community theatre.  I don’t know if these performers cannot act, or of they have been directed to emulate drunken cacti.
Once Laura Palmer appears, the acting turns professional, although the story continues to meander somewhat.  Just hold on and bear with it.
The truckstop sequence is unforgettable.
The image quality if this is excellent, the audio adequate.  Subtitles are unnecessary.
I still suffer enjoyment / appreciate issues with this film.  Indeed with this director’s oeuvre, or the director himself, whom I’ve always equated with the unclothed emperor.

In many ways, this is similar to Q2’s version, and my comments from 2014 mirror my thoughts toward this edit.
For Twin Peaks fans, and Lynch believers, both versions are strongly recommended.

Wild Tales - 2006 - Spain

Wild Tales - 2006 - 6/10
AKA - Relatos Salvajes

 
From Spain and Argentina, six films of vengeance or conflict.
Films vary considerably in quality and enjoyment, and the above is an overall score.  Anthology front loaded with the best and funniest in the first half.
The opening flight cabin sequence is brilliant and laugh out loud as it develops.
The next one about a loan shark, a barely open diner, and rat poison was good.
Then two drivers dueling along a lonely stretch of highway.  Great fun.

 
Next three less savage, with little to no humor.
Angry man vs a tow truck company.
Hit n run driver and a dead mother and infant.
Wedding reception meltdown.

First three - Yes!
Last three - You have been warned.

The Man Behind Hitler - 2006 - USA

The Man Behind Hitler - 2006 - 7/10

 
Documentary on Joseph Goebbels, Nazi minster of propaganda.
Kenneth Branagh reads excerpts from Goebbels diary.
Newsreels, still photos try to “put you back” into the moment.
Extremely well done and essential for any WWII buff.

Two points I wondered about.
1)  Keeping any sort of diary strikes me as risky, especially with such pointed entries.
2)  The diaries survived intact!

Another thing.  Goebbels was German, Branagh is British.
So what part of this “The American Experience” episode is U S of A related?

Blueprint Of Murder - 1961 - Japan

Blueprint Of Murder - 1961 - 6/10
AKA - Ankokugai no Dankon  //  暗黒街の弾痕

Ratings?  Ratings don’t apply to gems like this one!
Driver and mechanic are still road-testing the experimental engine.
Once perfected, it will be lighter, cheaper to manufacture, and have better fuel economy than anything else.
Meanwhile, scoundrels try to steal.  A yakuza gang, a rival engine firm, an oil consortium.
Then, after one of the partners dies mysteriously, his brother appears and all hell breaks loose.

 
Extreme espionage actioner roars ahead in full bore overdrive.
Industrial spies, shadowy hitmen, a whispered group from Hong Kong, the police detective, an aggressive news hound, the shameless mogul, fast talking lovelies,  etc …
There is enough material here for five films, packed into 70”.
The pace is frantic, your head will spin off if you try to keep track of everything.

 
Two of the best interludes occur at the nightclub, where a songbird croons “Nobody Knows” while three silhouetted men shift and sway behind her.
Whole film is funny and wildly over the top bonkers.  007 fans, look for Mie Hama!

Station West - 1948 - USA

Station West - 1948 - 6/10

 
US Army sends an undercover operative to investigate a couple of murders.
Gold is starting to stockpile in a nearby fort, the nearby town is controlled by a boss.
Action occurs in the saloon and out on the hard scrabble in this unusual Western.
Dick Powell plays the sharp tongued detective, Jane Greer the manipulative, mystery woman.
Yep, a couple of Noir icons in two fisted cowboy Noir.  Oh yeah, Raymond Burr as crooked lawyer!
Fights, chases, missing bullion, fires, romance, and dark mischief packed into 80 odd minutes.

New Battles Without Honor Or Humanity: Part 03 Last Days Of The Boss - 1976 - Japan

New Battles Without Honor Or Humanity: Part 03 Last Days Of The Boss - 1976 - 7/10
AKA - Shin Jingi Naki Tatakai: Kumicho Saigo no Hi
新仁義なき戦い 組長最後の日

 
This was it.  The end, no mas, done, finished.
Final film from unrelated spinoff of the acclaimed Battles Without Honor Or Humanity series.
Fukasaku had had enough and moved on to other projects.

This follows an escalating turf war between two mob families.
Even when they try to form an agreement, too much blood has been shed.
Top bosses cannot control their underlings and the film is punctuated with shooting sprees and assassinations.
One of the best moments finds small boss Bunta Sugawara avenging the murder of his leader by going after the rival crew in heavy trucks along a winding mountain road.
The pace in this film is dizzying, with jump cuts and blurry pans.
Characters lie throughout, and many times the viewer is deliberately confused regarding characters, and the narrative itself.
This can be watched as a stand alone episode, with no familiarity with the classic series.

English subtitles = https://subscene.com/subtitles/new-battles-without-honor-and-humanity-3-bosss-last-days/english/1133433

Still Alice - 2014 - USA

Still Alice - 2014 - 7/10

 
Initially, I feared this would be another rehash of Away From Her or Amour, two other acclaimed films about women with degenerative mental decline.
Both of those felt like good-for-you broccoli stories, and I could not relate with or care about the protagonists.
For whatever reason, Still Alice was more engrossing and enjoyable.
The premise is uncomfortable, watching sections of memory and intellect slide away.
Moore disappears into her role of esteemed linguist professor who starts to have trouble remembering words.
Only caveat I might have is these were affluent individuals.
The resources and options they have are beyond half the at-risk population.
Funny, heartbreaking, but not necessarily depressing.
Interviews with creative team a very good extra.

The Voodoo Woman - 1957 - USA

The Voodoo Woman - 1957 - 5/10

 
Mix magic with science and, voilà, jungle masterpiece!
Dr. Gerard, using voodoo and Chemistry 101, attempts to create an invincible warrior.
Results ain’t working out so well.
Until, gun-toting, gold-hungry, two-faced Marilyn comes into the forbidden village.
“Aha,”  thinks the scientist,  ”here’s a subject with no silly qualms about killing.”
AIP cheapie, shot on soundstage, boasts Tom Conway and Touch Connors.
And Marla English, who, like any buxom starlet, never envisioned a future in awful movies.
Don’t blow past the trading post, either, where the canary (Giselle d’arc, a Yma Sumac type) sings two lounge numbers with bongo accompaniment.
Not without its charm, for those with a taste for schlock.

The Loving Story - 2011 - USA

The Loving Story - 2011 - 7/10

 
Moving documentary of married couple expelled from Virginia, taking their case all the way to the Supreme Court.
Expelled in 1958 for miscegenation (ie: interracial marriage).
Overall tone is quiet.  The couple seem subdued, perhaps uncomfortable around camera lenses.
Interviews with the ACLU attorneys involved both enlightening and enjoyable.
No one from the Virginia courthouse spoke.
I thought I would dislike the husband, a crew cut bricklayer, but he turned out to be quietly sympathetic.
Film dramatizations were released in 1996 and 2016.