Dara O’Briain: Crowd Tickler - 2016 - UK

Dara O’Briain: Crowd Tickler - 2016 - 7/10

 
After watching, with minimal enjoyment, Dawn French's confessional standup, others suggested Mr O’Briain.
Thank you.  Thank you.
O’Briain, who hosts the savagely funny Mock The Week delivers the goods.
Topics range from uncertain fame (“Hey, aren’t you Al Murray?  Hey, pub landlord!!”)
to over-sharing, to rampant false empathy, best of all, a running gag leveled at ***Jedi’s Mon Mothma.
“Many Bothans died ... “  Sad sad sad, despair, guilt, la la la.
At one hour, this packs plenty of laughs.

Dawn French: 30 Million Minutes - 2014 - UK

Dawn French: 30 Million Minutes - 2014 - 5/10

 
Give the comedian an A for effort in her one-woman show.
Ms French charges about the stage, reacts to huge "BOYS!!" signs, while giving a personal history tour.
Growing up, her family, and her body image - the latter, at length.
Laughs are rare in the first hour.
At times, she seems to pause a second or two, waiting for applause or laughter that never comes.
Females I watched this with giggled during the “mother daughter” section, the last 20 minutes.
More memoir than stand up comedy, though not always memorable.
This ain‘t Vicar Of Dibley, it ain’t French & Saunders, and it sure as hell ain’t Ab Fab.
Live show was wildly popular, nevertheless.

Jimmy Carr: In Concert - 2008 - UK

Jimmy Carr: In Concert - 2008 - 6/10

 
Popular British standup comedian delivers almost two hours of material seriously funny and seriously offensive.
A lot of viewers may squirm uncomfortably when he jokes about wife beating, pedophilia and paraplegics.
(This is the guy who once commented that the UK Paraplegic Olympic team would be much more competitive owing to the Iraq and Afghan wars.)
In this show, he interacts with children (14 yrs) in the audience.
If you worry this sounds messed up, bear in mind parents brought their children to this very adult show.
Those who quibble at the “In Concert” title, relax.  There is a jazzy music interlude.
Laugh out loud funny and tasteless.
Commonwealth types often do better with this than politically inclusive souls.

The Chestnut Man - 2021 - Denmark

The Chestnut Man - 2021 - 7/10
AKA - Kastanjemanden

 
It’s an old case, a year gone, almost cold file.
Still, the kidnapped victim was – is! – a politician’s daughter.
Then, after a year, a string of women are murdered, limbs removed, displays mounted.
And always those eerie chestnut men somewhere on the scene.
Six part thriller, well written, diabolically constructed, sure direction, solid acting.
None of the detectives are drooling, weirdo types, an overused crutch from imaginatively bereft writers.
Convoluted, perhaps so much, you may need to rewatch a few episodes.

Florence Foster Jenkins - 2016 - UK

Florence Foster Jenkins - 2016 - 6/10

 
Entertaining, amusing biopic, though I can understand why many turned a deaf ear.
Meryl Streep splendid as daffy, delusional society dame who inflicts her voice onto Carnegie Hall and to wax cylinders for perpetuity.
Mrs Jenkins suffers pitch problems, insecure attack, wobbly control, on and on ...
In this telling, audiences were mildly sympathetic, though giggling occurred in film and in reality.
Hugh Grant equally fine as supportive, protective husband.
Her singing numbers, though, are going to kill many of you.

Movie buffs often have a fondness for bad.
Genuine bad.  Not calculated Sharknado rubbish, bur rather Ed Wood working at the zenith of his powers.
Likewise music.  Singers like Tiny Tim, Claudine Longet, Karen Dalton will be an acquired taste for most, yet I do spin them up from time to time.
Your own “guilty pleasure” taste in music ought to inform you of how you will react to Mrs Jenkins.

Second Best Marigold Hotel - 2015 - UK

Second Best Marigold Hotel - 2015 - 5/10

 
Was this film really necessary?
Since someone brought it home, and I got to watch it, I guess so.
Second helping of elderly retirees living in Jaipur hotel, picks up where original left off.
That was a surprise smash, reaching beyond the aging arthouse set.
The ensemble interaction is less this go around.
Two new characters are introduced, which likely translates as less lines for everyone.
More critical, the core of the narrative is about the upcoming wedding.
Rehearsals, dance practice, dinners, capped by the wedding which is elaborate and lengthy.
Consequently, most of the returning principals are underwritten sketches.
We see them onscreen, a minute here, a minute there, shadows of what they were in the original release.
Above photo nicely encapsulates characters lost in a crowded script.

Dr Mabuse, The Gambler - 1922 - Germany

Dr Mabuse, The Gambler - 1922 - 8/10
AKA - Dr. Mabuse, Der Spieler

 
One of cinema’s earliest, and finest criminal masterminds.
Master stock market manipulator, card sharp, swindler.
Mabuse rules a band of weaklings, drug addicts, and thugs through force of will and ruthless discipline.
Lengthy, quite lengthy at 4 hours, it can be enjoyed over several evenings since it is broken regularly into acts.
Interiors are 20's Deco, while exteriors are an Expressionistic rats maze of narrow back lanes and secret gambling dens.
Tempo, which gallops ahead during the first half, relaxes in the second when Mabuse, the epitome of calculated control, tilts to obsession and megalomania.
The entire mood and tone is steeped in the exuberance and decadence of Weimar Berlin.  That, and ennui, sheer boredom of living in an accelerated life.
Metropolis and M enjoy greater acclaim, but this has always been my preferred Lang.
Rudolf Klein-Rogge delivers a bravura, unforgettable performance as the diabolical Mabuse.

Collateral - 2004 - USA

Collateral - 2004 - 7/10

 
Almost great film.
Michael Mann Neo-Noir, set in late night Los Angeles.
Cruise and Foxx as tightly scheduled hitman and reluctant, but impoverished cabbie.
Both actors deliver underplayed, yet crackling performances.
Demonstration time for cinematography.  Midnight blacks, neons, splashy billboards, sweeping lights.
Wicked dialogue, as well.  The narrative is more dialogue driven, with escalating action splattering the night.
Without going too much into the plot, the ending faltered for me.
It delivered a crowd-pleasing, Hollywood studio cop out, that was unrealistic and out of character.
Docked it a point for that.
Perfect for crime oriented insomniacs and somnambulists.

Sleepwalkers - 1992 - USA

Sleepwalkers - 1992 - 5/10

 
The new boyfriend is cute, rugged, ideal, but his heart belongs to Mommy.
Mother and son, incestuous drifters, cruise into deadsville, Indiana.
Unnatural predators, hunting food.  Meat.  Yeah, the other, other white meat.
Except this dish needs to be, mmm, virtuous.  Good luck there, as the 90’s sashays into a hedonistic decade.
Promising horror boasts stellar  cast amidst more wooden players.
Poor script by Stephen King, worsened by Mick Garris, who is an inept writer, worse director.
Might have been better, shoulda been, though one gathers the producers aimed low.

Crimson Rivers - 2000 - France

Crimson Rivers - 2000 - 7/10
AKA - Les Rivières Pourpres

 
Major - major - major disappointment this.  True, I scored this a 7, yet I would have notched it an 8 as would have other viewers.
Paris commissioner (Jean Reno) sent to remote site in Alps after a nude body is found.
The victim had suffered ritual torture, hands and eyes removed, then killed slowly.
The trail leads to a posh, extremely exclusive university.
Meanwhile, another cop (Vincent Cassel) investigates a tomb desecration, hundreds of kilometers distant.
The trail likewise leads to the university.
The look is Neo-Noir, the plot is creepy and suspenseful, punctuated with intense action.
Location filming is breathtaking.  This is a fabulous looking film.
Unfortunately . . . there is no “why.”
A truly enjoyable movie, marred by a rushed, inexplicable conclusion.
According to an interview with a frustrated Cassel, he did not understand the end either.
Note - The director chose to cut all the explanatory sequences because they were “boring."
This could have been a great film.
Recommended - with that warning.

Hangmen - 2016 - UK

Hangmen - 2016 - 7/10

 
Gallows humor, quite literally.
Another morning, another gutless “innocent” wailing he didn’t do it!
Grow some stones, man.
Harry slips the noose around his neck, springs the trap door, and snap!  Blessed silence.
Life is sweet for the hangman.  Until, a few months later, hanging is abolished.
What can an unemployed executioner do?  Become a publican, that’s what.
A vain, preening, bullying troll (cribbed from Basil Fawlty?), who berates his patrons, mocks his daughter, and belittles a rival, if absent, hangman.  One who scored a higher tally.
Depending on ones tolerance for black comedy, this is laugh out loud funny.
Theatre junkies, take aim, ready …
English subtitles = https://subscene.com/subtitles/national-theatre-live-hangmen/english/2720154

It! - 1966 - UK

It! - 1966 - 5/10

 
Museum warehouse burns down and only surviving artifact is tall, black, ugly looking statue.
And ... whenever folks are alone with said statue, they keep dying.
Because, the dark stone is actually a golem!
Cheap looking film with a minimum of actors plays like bad television.
Better - or worse - Roddy McDowell seems to channel Norman Bates and Seymour Krelboyne in portraying the nutso, dotty assistant curator.
Not awful enough to enter the rarefied echelon of Bad Cinema, yet there are enough dreadful proceedings to satisfy aficionados of dreck.

Night Tide - 1961 - USA

Night Tide - 1961 - 6/10

 
Locals try to warn Johnny, seaman Johnny, on shore leave.
His girlfriend, Mora, her previous two boyfriends … well … both died.
Nevertheless, Johnny finds himself falling in love with the exotic Mora.
Who works the beach sideshow as a mermaid.
Rumors aside, mermaids are simply creatures of myth.  Right?
Strange, independent film has many offbeat characters and odd settings that capture interest.
The story is a blend of horror, mystery and fantasy.
Lovingly restored by Nicolas Winding Refn.
English subtitles = https://subscene.com/subtitles/night-tide/english/2712780

Elle - 2016 - France

Elle - 2016 - 7/10

 
Challenging French fare that defies expectations.
Early on - say first scene - there is a rape (for the sensitive, there are a pair of flashbacks later on, too).
The victim does not phone the police, but simply goes to the clinic the next day and requests an STD panel.
She does not tell friends, family, coworkers.
Partly, she does not know the assailant’s identity (he wore a mask) and she is trying to determine who it is.
Party ... well, there are elements within her, call it the past, that are outside the normal.
Isabelle Huppert captures this rogue soul.  Brittle, icy, razor smart, and possessed with an offhand cunning.
Elle seems to wander aimlessly.  Don’t be fooled.  Investigation and retribution are at the core.

Nikita: S01 - 2010 - USA

Nikita: S01 - 2010 - 6/10

 
Watched this on and off for over a year.
I got this after doing a search for “most violent TV series,” scanning the usual entries, reading at the top of the list,  “... and then there’s Nikita.”
The opening is sexy and has a nice body count.  Also lays the groundwork for what the arc will be.
Nikita used to be a top assassin for a clandestine government agency known as Division, now gone rogue.
Nikita herself turned rogue against Division, and each episode sees her trying to thwart one of their ops.
By turns interesting and predictable.
Worst fudge is Nikita’s mole, Alex, who crawls through air ducts searching for secrets.
Yes - air ducts.  Not the ones in your home or office.  Think 4 feet by 4 feet.  You know, the ducts that are piped in submarines and spaceships.
Body count sags midway, though the deaths and conspiracies rally at the end.
Decent twists.  Better for bingers, which I am not.  Also - a big plus - the draw of Maggie Q.
There are only four seasons, and from what I read, Nikita does reach a conclusion.

Censor - 2021 - UK

Censor - 2021 - 7/10

 
Enid works as a film censor, watching hours upon hours of video nasties.
Predominantly slasher films.
At her core, she wants to make the world safer, society better.
Because she carries guilt and trauma over her sister.
When they were young, something happened, which she cannot remember.
Slow burn mystery is saturated in regret and fear.
At times, the narrative loses sense, owing to Enid’s faulty memories and false memories.
Viewers expecting the genre horror outing may be disappointed.
Unless they can wait.  Enid has all manner of snakes and thorns bottled up.

The Red Queen - 2015 - Russia

The Red Queen - 2015 - 6/10

AKA - Krasnaya Koroleva

 
Splashy, lavish drama of Soviet fashion models through the Khrushchev and Brezhnev eras.
Focus is on the striking Regina Kolesnikova, premier model of the Soviet house.
Haunted by her past, she drinks, abuses drugs, falls into bleak despair, bordering on madness.
Most of the other models around her are equally messed up.  Soap opera territory.
Heavy handed melodrama boasts wildly over the top acting.

Real life glamour queen Regina Zbarska, the quintessential Soviet runway model of the 50's and 60's, was internationally famous.  Whispers persist she was also a secret KGB operative.  If so, she had access to Western designers, politicians, ambassadors.  Everyone.  KGB officials have neither confirmed, nor denied those rumors.

 
Difficult to assess this production, which I enjoyed beginning to finish (I am a long Vogue subscriber).
As noted, the acting is broad to the point of histrionics.
Since I had seen many of the actors in other Russian movies, I wanted to blame inept directing.
On the other hand, this could well be camp homage to Douglas Sirk’s florid excesses.
Set designs are saturated Technicolor, evocative of overripe MGM musicals (there are musical numbers in Red Queen, as well).  After so many grayish looking US and Euro shows, this dazzles by comparison.
The studio press release also promised an exaggerated telling of Regina Zbarska which this certainly is.

Taxi - 1998 - France

Taxi - 1998 - 6/10

 
French action comedy (“Taxi” pulls multiple hits in IMDB).
The speediest (“stop sign? what stop sign?”) pizza delivery guy in Marseilles ditches his motorcycle after he gets his taxi license.  Naturally, he becomes the fastest in the taxi world as well.
Marseilles police are aware of him, since he blows down speed meters while clocking 130 MPH, but they have other worries.
A bank heist team, known as the Mercedes Gang, has throttled into town.
Daylight robberies, screeching rubber, brilliant escapes from the frustrated, if imbecilic, police.
Who can catch the gang?
Yes, predictable as a child’s sing song.
The male leads are given the most character development, the baddies are more sneering than deadly.
Broad based comedy with several car chases, slalom style.
Empty headed fun, primed for anyone who ever asked a cabbie to “step on it.”

Blonde In A White Car - 1958 - France

Blonde In A White Car - 1958 - 6/10
AKA - Toi... le venin

Glossy French sleaze.
Man walks down deserted beach road, late night.
A huge, white Cadillac creampuff slows down and a silhouetted blonde asks if he wants a ride.
“No thanks,” he declines
“Hop in anyway,” she insists.
He climbs in and she drives to secluded woods.
Kills the engine, opens her robe - revealing no clothes, and she gives him a ride that makes seat springs squeal.

 
When she’s finished she kicks him out at gunpoint, then tries to run him down in the car.
Boy scout that our hero is, he gets the license number and tracks the car to the home of two blonde half sisters.
Both are jealous, manipulative, game players.  And both are lonely.

 
One of them is a crazy psycho - maybe both of them.
Ever the fool, the man wants to know which one is wacko, so when they offer him the guest room, he stays.
They purr into his stupid male brain and wrap spider silk around him tighter and tighter.
Shallow - slow - unsavory, with a jazz score that wails like a deranged stripper joint.

The Color Out Of Space - 2010 - Germany

The Color Out Of Space - 2010 - 7/10
AKA - Die Farbe

 
“It began with the meteorite.”
Armin starts to retell events that befell his village, and its inhabitants.
His audience, a young American, whose father recently traveled to Germany.
Where the older man, ex GI, disappeared.
Blight seeps across Armin’s tale, then lingers, perhaps dormant.
German adaptation of the Lovecraft story is subtle, not gonzo.
Readers of HPL’s works may prefer this over Cage’s pureed version.
 

English subtitles = https://subscene.com/subtitles/die-farbe-hp-lovecrafts-the-colour-out-of-space/english/2712782

Lion - 2016 - Australia

Lion - 2016 - 7/10

 
Deep in his twenties, the young man goes in search of himself.
Rather, his past, who he had been before his adoption by an Australian couple.
As a young boy, he wandered from his small village, ending up hundreds of miles away in Calcutta.
There, he is another runaway, one of tens of thousands, existing on the streets, smiling predators on every corner.
Engrossing story, based on real life.
Harrowing for any parent who ever lost sight of their child for a moment, let alone an hour, or twenty years.