Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché - 2021 - UK

Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché - 2021 - 6/10

 
Flawed documentary of the X-Ray Spex frontman.
Poly (Marianne Elliott) Styrene’s story, what there is of it, may be of interest to fans.
Not particularly in-depth, this skips lightly over troubled areas.
Why?  Because the main writer / director is Styrene’s daughter.
Who delivers the bulk of narration in a listless monotone, as if she is bored out of her mind.
Shown above, the daughter talks about herself almost as much as she talks about Mom.
The doc feels like a family obligation, doing a duty.
Wish someone else had taken a crack at this.

Raw Deal - 1986 - USA

Raw Deal - 1986 - 6/10

 
Mid-tier Schwarzenegger vehicle, made during the stokin’ ten year box-office run.
Here, an ex-colleague asks Arnold to infiltrate a Chicago mob.
Might as well as him to join a ballet troupe.
Anyway, he sidles in, and the formula unfolds.
Alpha male confrontation, scattered violence, bad music choices.
Sleek 80’s look, boasting a cast of strong villains (Robert Davi, Sam Wanamaker).
Not the best Schwarzenegger film, yet crackles more energy than most of his ensuing output.

Rich Hall’s Presidential Grudge Match - 2016 - UK

Rich Hall’s Presidential Grudge Match - 2016 - 7/10

 
Sick of politics already?  Well, too bad.
Rich Hall is an American ex-pat living in Britain.
He hosts comedy specials, trying to explain the nuances of American life.
Such as, in this one, the glorious history of US presidential campaigns
This is a topic ripe for skewering, slashing and bludgeoning.
Thrill as he predicts who will win in 2016!
Mercilessly funny, unless your are still gloating or raging.

Where’s Poppa? - 1970 - USA

Where’s Poppa? - 1970 - 6/10

 
To see a comedy this uncomfortable, one usually hunts down Brit fare.
Not so here.
Gordon is an attorney, middle aged, single, still caring for his mother.
Mom suffers dementia, the bat crazy nuts kind.
Not abusive or hateful, but grossly inappropriate, tushie.
Ruth Gordon gleefully revels in this role, and is the main reason to watch.
If you are dealing with aging, senile parents, this may be irresistible or repellent.
Not for the squeamish.  γνῶθι σεαυτόν

Hansard - 2019 - UK

Hansard - 2019 - 7/10

 
Theatre junkies, from boards to capital steps to bedrooms.
The bloom of love, faded, withered, their marriage one of sufferance.
For all that, the habits of love still wear like shackles.
Diana and Robin met and married in 1968.
Desire overcame political stances, but by 1988 (when this is set) Thatcherism is rising.
One partner is a party man, a guaranteed vote, for a side that coaxes fear for support.
The other partner is staunch Labour, yet apparently a limousine liberal.
Razor barbed play, one act, one set.

Vexed: S01 - 2010 - UK

Vexed: S01 - 2010 - 7/10

 
Three episodes of acid comedy, satirizing cop shows.
Toby Stephens jaw-dropping as clueless, no-check-switch, politically incorrect police inspector.
Lucy Punch as his sharp-tongued partner, prone to violent outbursts.
Truly funny in a mean, cruel, black-humored manner.
For those who appreciated Touch Of Cloth, only more wicked.
yνῶθι σεαυτόν

I never viewed S02.
It aired two years later and supposedly replaced one character and toned down Stephens’ cringe producing behavior.
If true, too bad.  Suits making creative decisions.

Vengeance Of The Phoenix Sisters - 1966 - Taiwan

Vengeance Of The Phoenix Sisters - 1966 - 6/10
AKA - San Feng Zhen wu Lin  //  三鳳震武林

Escaped convicts attack the compound, killing everyone, but specifically the man who had sent them to prison.
Wife, too.  They searched for the children, but they had escaped.
Oh, well, they are just little girls.
Fifteen years on, those little girls are grown, and now seek revenge.

 
Compelling Taiwan swordplay actioner boasts stylish camerawork and an imaginative score.
The fight choreography, and there are numerous conflicts, pales next to Shaw Brothers.
On the other hand, the cinematography compensates.
Tight closeups, handheld work, chaotic battles.  Ingenious and creative.
Recommended for wuxia fans who have seen ’em all, here’s a recent rediscovery.

Dr. Terror’s House Of Horrors - 1965 - UK

Dr. Terror’s House Of Horrors - 1965 - 6/10

 
The final man to enter the train compartment is Dr. Schreck, translated as Terror.
When his bag falls, tarot cards scatter out.  Curious, the other passengers inquire.
And each is given a reading of their future.
Five chapter anthology is, predictably, hit or miss.
The best ones seem to be the odd numbered.
Werewolf curse, voodoo warning, vampire bride.
Always a pleasure watching Cushing and Lee.

The Winter’s Tale - 1992 - France

The Winter’s Tale - 1992 - 6/10
AKA - Conte d’hiver

 
Part of Eric Rohmer’s “four seasons” quartet.
Young couple enjoys idyllic summer romance.
End of vacation, she gives him her address with,  “Visit me as soon as you are in my town!”
Next scene = 5 years later.
Female is now a single mother with daughter who is almost 5. Hmmm.
She has two different suitors, neither of whom she is much interested in (still carries the torch).
Turns out she gave “summer fling” the wrong address.
She insists that was accidental, and has been settling for Mr Right-Now.
French fans, you know if this interests you.

Of the four “season” films (I have viewed all, and own two), I would recommend Conte d'Automne as the first title for adults to investigate, with Conte de Printemps second.

Spin A Dark Web - 1956 - UK

Spin A Dark Web - 1956 - 6/10
AKA - Soho Incident

“Are you a good boy?  Can you do what you're told?”
Not exactly to the first, but yes to the second.
Jim, from Canada, boxer and electrician, hunts for work in Soho.
And falls under the spell of Bella.

 
Her brother Rico bets on races, runs a small mob, tries to lay off the heavy stuff.
Bella is another matter, however.
Not a typical fatale, but she’s cold as stone, and manipulative.
And Jim is soon doing what she tells him to do.
This has a strong sense of place, Soho in the 1950’s.

Chicken With Plums - 2011 - France

Chicken With Plums - 2011 - 7/10
AKA - Poulet Aux Prunes

 
Overlooked arthouse film exudes dreamlike atmosphere.
French film, with French leads, but the setting is Tehran and so is the story.
Renowned violinist loses his will to live after his beloved instrument is destroyed.
Film tracks his final eight days, each day filled with flashbacks and music.
The tone skips from comic to poignant to heart-breaking.
One views this more for images and scenes.  The color selection is radiant.

On a cerebral level, logic is subservient to plot.
- POSSIBLE SPOILERS -
Meaning, for twenty years main character was globe-trotting concert violinist, suddenly he is a school teacher?
Or - when he decides to die, no one intervenes to stop him?

That said, the film does state from the onset,
“Persian fairy tales always begin this way.”
Viewed that way, one should suppress skepticism and simply enjoy.

The Yellow Ticket - 1918 - Germany

The Yellow Ticket - 1918 - 6/10
AKA - Der Gelbe Schein  //  The Devil’s Pawn

 
Sluggish melodrama of Polish Lea who adopts another’s identity to attend Saint Petersburg medical school.
A foreigner, and Jewish, she needs a “yellow ticket” to be in Russia.
She cannot afford rent, but her landlady is understanding.
Besides, the landlady runs a club akin to a sportin’ house, where Lea can be nice to the gentlemen.
Overacted throughout, but this is 1918 and a good vehicle to see Pola Negri in.
Nazis tried, and failed, to destroy all copies of this.

The Witch Of King’s Cross - 2021 - Australia

The Witch Of King’s Cross - 2021 - 7/10

 
“…Touch me with tongues of black fire.  Night, freakish night, sets me free."
Poet, model (for Norman Lindsay), painter, occultist, sybarite, witch.
Arrested, investigated, works confiscated, burned, careers ruined (Sir Eugene Goossens).
Splashy biography of the notorious, scandalous artist, Rosaleen Norton.

 
Her paintings, dense with sexuality, black magic, darkness, created a maelstrom in 1950’s Australia.
Concise documentary proves an excellent gateway for curious jades.

Aftertaste - 2020 - UK

Aftertaste - 2020 - 6/10

 
End of the date, she asks him to head upstairs and wait for her.
She opens the refrigerator, then drinks a packet of blood.
First warning that something may be amiss in this relationship.
Moody short is long on style and tension, likewise conversation.
Conclusion does not proceed along traditional lines, and is somewhat frustrating.

West Of Zanzibar - 1928 - USA

West Of Zanzibar - 1928 - 8/10

A “friend" tells shocked husband that his wife is leaving with him.
When the husband protests, the friend pushes him off a balcony.  He falls and breaks his back.
Permanently paralyzed.
Later the wife returns, only to die, leaving hubby with an illegitimate daughter to raise.
The husband vows revenge against the man who stole his wife, and against the brat.
Eventually he tracks his rival to Zanzibar.  He plots revenge, using the daughter whom he had raised in a brothel.

 
One of the most sordid and unpleasant of all Silent films, Tod Browning's Zanzibar still packs a wallop.
Lon Chaney amazing as embittered man, consumed by vengeance.  Lionel Barrymore his slippery rival.
The opening, which I described above, takes about five minutes, and the plot moves like brushfire.
Ignore sappy ending which was likely pegged on to appease censors.
Wonderfully ugly film.

A Summer’s Tale - 1996 - France

A Summer’s Tale - 1996 - 7/10
AKA - Conte d'été

 
Third in Éric Rohmer’s four seasons quartet.
Shy college grad goes to the beach for a month, hoping to rendezvous with his “possible” girlfriend.
She is late.  Very late.  She does not write, does not phone.
While waiting, he meets two very different girls.
An impressive amount of conversation in this one.
When I grumbled no one can talk so much, I was quickly corrected.
“This was pre-texting era.” and “Oh yes we can, girls love asking questions!”
Nice looking, walkabout location scenery.
While the young man makes errors of youth, one wonders afterward if males actually learn from experiences, or resign themselves in future dealings with females.

Be Prepared! - 1923 - Czechoslovakia

Be Prepared! - 1923 - 6/10
AKA - Buď  Připraven!

 
Silent film of boy scouts learning skills.
Survival, rescue, roughing it.
Film has been restored and nicely tinterd.
With a new, modernist score, which may alienate some.
Now – – on their website, they offer two versions, both with the same score.
The reconstructed scout camp side by side with an experimental montage.
This is a voyage into the video abyss, alternative transmissions from elsewhere.

https://www.filmovyprehled.cz/cs/season-of-classic-films/bud-pripraven-be-prepared

And Now For Something Completely Different - 1971 - UK

And Now For Something Completely Different - 1971 - 7/10

 
Ha, ha, ha. Talk about the original cheat-sheet, bingefest!
Addictive string of Monty Python sketches from the first two seasons.
If I remember correctly, this had been created (concocted) to break into the US market.
Yes, yes, the individual episodes are the best way to view Python.
This collection, however, is a barrage, moving from one laugh out loud sketch to the next.
Even if you have ‘em all, this is still worth a place in your shelf.
Suggestion:  run this on a corner TV next time you host a party!

Janis - 1974 - USA

Janis - 1974 - 6/10

 
Early documentary on Janis Joplin, 60’s singer.
Pieced together footage (travel - interview - concert) tag along with Janis.
At times, this can be uncomfortable, excruciating even.
During an interview with Dick Cavett, she says she plans to attend her 10 year high school reunion.
She does, where the oddball in high school is shunned by her redneck classmates.
This has dated badly, because, being so close to her death in 1970, it assumes viewers “know” her story.
Her death is never mentioned, nor her sexuality, nor any of her struggles.
There has never been an in-depth documentary on Joplin;  her family remains overly protective.

Let Them All Talk - 2020 - USA

Let Them All Talk - 2020 - 6/10

 
Yes, and talk is what they do.
Meandering story of the “literary” author who takes the Queen Mary 2 as a way to cross the Atlantic.
The cabin is free, if she gives a shipboard talk or two, chats with passengers.
(I have been on QE2 crossings, and heard / chatted with authors, so this is not uncommon.  Our cabin, by the way, was minuscule in comparison with those show in this.)
Two college friends, who she has not seen in 30 years, accompany her, as well as her nephew.
Talky throughout, not in a bad way, relationships are skirted, bits of history aired with a sigh.
Something between a Woody Allen film and French cinema.  Fans of either ought to enjoy.
Crossings grow tedious after a few days, and the film includes that.
The “ending”, to be blunt, is quitting time.  Instead of concluding, the writer and director shrug and walk off.

A Tale Of Springtime - 1990 - France

A Tale Of Springtime  - 1990 - 7/10
AKA - Conte de Printemps

 
First installment of Éric Rohmer’s four seasons quartet.
Journalist is away on assignment, and his girlfriend cannot abide living in his messy, dirty apartment.
She meets an exuberant younger female at a party and spends the night in the girl’s flat.
The younger girl is unhappy with the golddigger attached to her father.
The girl’s matchmaking attempt is blatant.
What always intrigues me with French fare is how individuals stroll themselves into such situations.
The women circle and spar throughout - the men are barely seen.
Well composed film, packed with nuanced conversations, yet an air of resignation may put some viewers off.