Verdun: Visions d'histoire - 1928 - France

Verdun: Visions d'histoire - 1928 - 7/10

 
Long (150 minutes) dramatization / reenactment of the historic battle for Verdun during World War I.
This is helped along with some stock footage, as well as maps, diagrams, and rough animation.
WWI had ended only a decade earlier, so original audiences would have been quite familiar with the history.
Tactics are shown for both German and French.  Victories are noted, as are defeats.
British troops are referenced, but they were busy at the Somme.
Yanks would not enter the war until 1917, a full year after Verdun.
For history buffs - especially war buffs - this is interesting throughout.
“French” companion to the BBC series, The Great War (1963).

Dead Again - 1991 - USA

Dead Again - 1991 - 6/10

 
Branagh’s followup to Henry V is a Hitchcockian mystery.
A private eye accepts a client with amnesia, suffering terrible nightmares.
Strangers, it turns out they have something of a history.  Perhaps.
The narrative is veiled there (unless you watch the trailer) and maintains good suspense.
Two mysteries begin to dovetail:  a current story and a flashback.
Not full Noir, but elements used really enhance this, along with a few Gothic flourishes.
Derek Jacobi is delicious.
Old-fashioned whodunit, updated in a good way.

The Secret Life Of Books: S02 - 2016 - UK

The Secret Life Of Books: S02 - 2016 - 6/10

 
Superior followup to the first series (S01 marred by inferior presenters).
This season is a trifle more “English” with several titles less known outside of Britain.
Episodes include Spenser’s “Faerie Queen,”  Lear’s “Nonsense Songs,” Eliot’s  “Mill On The Floss.”
Also “Confessions Of An Opium Eater,”  “Cider With Rosie,” and “Swallows And Amazons.”
Each show is a mere 30 minutes.  Hosts read from the book, talk of their relationship with it, and the legacy of book and author.
Book lovers need no recommendation.  Others, this is a literary way to kill a half hour.

The Empire Begins - 2015 - USA

The Empire Begins - 2015 - 6/10

 
Fan-editor Darth Awesome combines all three Star Wars prequels into a single viewing experience, running two hours forty minutes.  The heaviest trims come from Phantom Menace.  The main sequence is the duel between Darth Maul vs Obi Wan and Qui-Gon Jinn.  For action fans seeking Clone Wars, this ain’t it.  Though Darth Awesome describes it as rise of Empire, fall of Anakin, the story is really a character study of Anakin Skywalker, with all the good and bad that entails.

Not scratching here, but pointing things out.  Planet Kamino barely appears, to me a startling omission.  As noted, all but eight minutes of Phantom Menace was jettisoned.  The battle on Geonosis was minimized.  Duly noticed and missed.  General Grievous, on the other hand, was no loss.  I could go on and on, parts I missed, others I was happy to see gone.  The narrative holds together, but this is a story about Anakin, and I don’t particularly care for this Jedi.  Exchanges with Padme remain awful, specifically because of utter lack of chemistry between the leads.

Grumbles aside, Mr Awesome’s edit is OK.  I rewatch E02 and E03 occasionally, E01 never.  There is clever invention in this effort.  Definitely recommended, especially to those who can tolerate the Christensen films.  For those who hated them, I doubt this will improve your opinion.

Boiling Point - 2021 - UK

Boiling Point - 2021 - 7/10

 
Character study of a head chef nearing the end of his tether.
Andy, recently divorced / separated, has finally found a flat after a spell of homeless status,
The health inspector has just docked his restaurant a massive two points.
Main cause, sloppy paperwork, which one gathers is due to Andy’s personal problems.
Stressors include tardy employees, a food critic arriving, an old mentor, food shortages.
One thing after another.
The camerawork is spectacular, lingering on one character, then latching on to another.
After twenty minutes, I realized that had not been a single edit.
In essence, a one take feature.  Spellbinding.

Viper In The Fist - 2004 - France

Viper In The Fist - 2004 - 6/10
AKA - Vipère au Poing

 
The boys live with grandma at the family chateau, unaware of their impoverished gentility.
Grandmama dies, however, and the parents grudgingly return from Vietnam.
Mother removes stoves from the boys’ rooms, decides they only need one blanket, cuts meals.
Removes them from boarding school, confiscates their toys, stabs hands when one speaks at the table.
She is determined to destroy their spirits.
The boys try to rebel, call their mother-from-hell “Freakso” behind her back, but they are so young.
Middle son is the strongest and the film becomes a battle of powerful wills.
Supposedly a watered-down version of Hervé Bazin’s novel of the same name.

6ixtynin9 - 1999 - Thailand

6ixtynin9 - 1999 - 6/10
AKA - Ruang talok 69  //  A Funny Story About 6 And 9

Bad luck, Tum is laid off from her financial office position.
Back at her apartment, unemployed, a box filled with cash is left outside her door.  Good luck!
Surely, it’s a mistake.  Well, finders keepers I always say.
Except for Tum, the criminals realize their error and come calling.
“Money?  What money?  I don’t know nothing about no money.”

 
And then, the bodies start piling up.  As do comic situations.
Cheap looking, poorly acted, and yet this has an undeniable charm.
The exuberant energy of a cast having a blast making a movie!

Strange Report - 1968 - UK

Strange Report - 1968 - 7/10

 
Short lived, cult favorite holds up well after several decades.
Anthony Quayle plays retired police superintendent Adam Strange.
He is tasked with mysteries, peculiar or delicate.
Kaz Garas is his assistant who does forensics, chemical analysis, lab work.
Finally there is ex Dr Who girl, Anneke Wills, neighbor, artist, undercover infiltrator.
Unlike much of the era, this is not campy, no heroics, no flashy nonsense.
Being the height of the 60's and Swinging London, the colors, fashions, sets are off the charts.
Plots include student unrest, Cold War intrigue, illegal immigration.
Show only ran 16 episodes (it was supposed to relocate Stateside, but actors declined).
Noteworthy for one the of the best, and catchiest, opening theme music ever.

Lost World: Jurassic Park - 1997 - USA

Lost World: Jurassic Park - 1997 - 5/10

 
Considered the weakest of the original trilogy, yet my personal favorite.
Main reason - the sheer quantity of meals.
With two tyrannosaurs and a pack of velociraptors, one expects to see tasty kills.
This does not disappoint.
From the opening child (gutlessly explained away) to all those armed and experienced hunters to Fido.
Chomp chomp chomp!
Unfortunately, director Spielberg, at this stage of his career, was still pandering to his core soccer mommy audience.
So, violence and mayhem tinged, this is family friendly.
Another big problem is the script.
Most of the characters, so-called seasoned professionals, are astonishingly dumb.
For all its flaws, this is a guilty pleasure.  I just wish someone could edit out the human stupidity.

War Of The Robots - 1978 - Italy

War Of The Robots - 1978 - 4/10
AKA - La Guerra Dei Robot

 
One of the most ridiculous SciFi movies, and an absolute gem!
There must be 47 plots that careen wildly, launch from nowhere, dead end, so I’ll try to pick the main threads.
Brainy, old man scientist gets kidnapped by robots wearing blonde Prince Valiant style wigs.
No idea why he is snatched, but Space Command reckons he needs rescuing!
There are dumpy space battles - imagine the old arcade fave, Asteroids.
The Earth force arrives on some planet to engage in more battles with the blonde robots (who have knockoff light sabers), and ultimately aid a slave rebellion!

 
Add an alien empress - human, of course, betrayals, quest for immortality, plastic spacesuits.
Music is cheesy, the camera crops everyone, pisspoor dubbing.
There is a final space battle that goes on for what feels like five hours.
Clearly, film producers wanted to create a grandiose space opera to hop the Star Wars bandwagon, only they were utterly clueless and used the same tropes from sword and sandal epics.
Cannot stress how indescribably awful this is.  Normal viewers - beware.  Trash connoisseurs - whee!
Oh, if only this was available as a deluxe DVD with commentaries.

Friends - 1912 - USA

Friends - 1912 - 6/10

 
On surface, a lightweight love triangle.
Dora has two admirers.  Dandy Jack and Grizzly Fallon.
While she prefers Dandy, he is breezy, and uninterested in a serious relationship.
When Grizzly asks for her hand, she must decide.
Griffith Biograph short boasts stellar cast (Mary Pickford, Lionel Barrymore, Henry Walthall, even a young Harry Carey).
These early Silent Westerns always stand out for costumes, a wild mix of hats and outfits, probably closer to what the West had been 20 years earlier.  By the 1940’s, all cowboys appeared to have shopped at Miller’s Outpost.
This print comes from the Mary Pickford Foundation, and is clean, but has a modernist score of piano and repetitive synthesizer.  It grew on me, yet it is essentially incongruous.

Queen Victoria’s Letters - 2014 - UK

Queen Victoria’s Letters - 2014 - 7/10

 
Unexpectedly entertaining two part series on the Widow Of Windsor.
Victoria wrote an astounding 50 million words in journals and letters.
Many myths debunked here.
Until widowhood, she was used and abused by strong men.
She had a strong sense of humor, as well as a strong sex drive (9 children).
The memoirs published in her life were considered scandalous, and after her death her daughter Beatrice did serious redaction.
With so many, many journals, however, much abides.
Fine documentary for Anglophiles.

Marlowe - 1969 - USA

Marlowe - 1969 - 6/10

 
Once (If) you get past the idea of James Garner as Philip Marlowe, this will be a solid mystery.
Marlowe is hired by a corn fed, Kansas farm girl, looking for her wayward brother.
$55.00.  It ain’t worth it.  He refunds her money, tells her the brother should return in a month.
Just as well, as he is soon engulfed in a Hollywood scandal, gangsters, an icepick murderer.
Not to mention drugs, buxom women, and explosive cops.
Glossy, California Noir boasts piercing dialogue, as well as a neatly tangled script.
Wait around to watch Rita Moreno do a striptease number.
And midway in the film, holy moly, Bruce Lee is a study in controlled annihilation.

L’Étudiante - 1988 - France

L’Étudiante - 1988 - 6/10

 
Breezy French romance.
Ambitious student, bracing for exhausting finals, enters steamy affair with musician.
Each barely has time for the other, even making time is possibly career destroying.
Yet they recognize they share a spark and recklessly hold onto the relationship.
They chase across the region trying to carve time for themselves, then hurry back to the classroom or concert appearance, exhausted.
A young Sophie Marceau is pouty and luscious.
Quite an 80’s experience, from music, to clothes, to the photography, to makeup, to the romantic attitudes.
One can’t help but wonder how much physical desperation has been lost in our era of love via digital.

The Big Steal - 1949 - USA

The Big Steal - 1949 - 6/10

 
Confusing Noir set in sunny Mexico.
A military detective hounds Robert Mitchum, thinking he stole a military payroll.
Mitchum teams with Jane Greer, and the pair pursue con-man / ex-boyfriend who actually did the theft.
Film roars across the desert with high speed chases, fistfights, and treacherous alliances.
Logic disappears at times, but Mitchum's easy nonchalance makes this enjoyable.

Audio commentary, by historian Richard Jewell, is dry with frequent lulls.
Most of it details the troubled production, such as ---
- Howard Hughes had taken over RKO (which he would run into the ground).
- Robert Mitchum was busted for reefer and served 60 days during filming.
- Actresses declined to work with him, fearing their careers would be tainted.

Nyrkki: S02 - 2021 - Finland

Nyrkki: S02 - 2021 - 7/10
AKA - Shadow Lines: S02

 
Season 02 picks up soon following events of S01.
Team Fist remains, and early on, a lethal adversary is eliminated.
Not so much a different series, but the tone is changed.
The “look” (fashions, sets, music) is diminished, and the narrative delves deeper into espionage.
1950’s Finland is still trying keep out of the Russian bear’s paw.
(At one point, Khrushchev even invites them to become a satellite.)
Much of the narrative circles into the Night Frost era, although this is highly dramatized.
Terrific series.  I suspect this concludes it.

Star Trek: Renegades - 2015 - USA

Star Trek: Renegades - 2015 - 6/10

 
Eagerly awaited fanfilm exploring the underbelly of the Trekverse.
Plot involves embittered souls erasing worlds rich in dilithium crystals.
Walter Koenig plays Admiral Chekov, though his character seems more aligned to Bester of Babylon 5.
Along with Tuvok (Tim Russ - who also directs) they “authorize” a ship of outlaws and misfits to investigate.
Battered cliché, true, but that’s the imaginative hook the writers devised.
Unlike most Trekverse tales, this is quite heavy on action and seldom dull.
After the opening (yawn inducing sitting and scribbling) the narrative barrels along for 45 minutes, pauses, races to the finish.
The story is so brisk, one cannot dwell on plot holes.
This ain’t your father’s Trek.  Darker and more violent.
Starfleet Captain Alvarez shoots first, lies in ambush, ignores boundary lines.
Good costumes, top notch models and special effects, lame CGI.

 
(Released before the Axanar controversy.)
Entertaining.  Better than most fanfilms I have watched.
A tighter, more thought out script would have improved this.

One of my issues with Trekverse is how privileged species travel about in magical spaceships, yet half of the lesser members live in dirt.  Caves, tunnels, dirty prisons.
Unless you belong to Starfleet, you are - what? - swine?

Satan’s Triangle - 1975 - USA

Satan’s Triangle - 1975 - 6/10

 
Good title for erotic witchcraft exploitation, except this a Bermuda Triangle yarn.
Coast Guard helicopter responds to S-O-S distress from schooner out in the Sargasso.
Soon as the copilot drops onto deck, a freak storm appears and the chopper flies off.
Passengers and crew are dead, save for a companion B-girl (Kim Novak).
While she and copilot drink and drink, she relates how everyone aboard was slaughtered.
And reminds the copilot,  “We’re going to die, too.”
May prove scary for the timid or easily frightened, otherwise fair at best.

Diplomat Kuroda Kosaku - 2011 - Japan

Diplomat Kuroda Kosaku - 2011 - 7/10
AKA - Gaikôkan Kuroda Kôsaku //  外交官・黒田康作

 
Well done spy thriller / sequel to Amalfi: Rewards of the Goddess.
Ten episode J-dorama follows diplomat (ha!) as he attempts to solve a series of increasingly high profile murders.
The police are involved, as is the Foreign Department, finally whatever they call National Security.
He enlists an unappreciated police detective, and also a few unlikely allies (including a couple of cameos from Byung-hun Lee).
Kuroda is mostly a  one man show, however.
Cooperation and sharing details are not strong points, viewers have to work out mysteries on their own.
That will be fine for some, too difficult for others.
Closing credits of chess play symbolize the moves, counter-moves and calculated alliances.
The final two episodes forget the basic film rule of “Show, don’t tell” and are extremely talky and explanatory.
Excellent adult drama, nevertheless.

Night Bus - 2020 - UK

Night Bus - 2020 - 6/10

 
Birthday girl Natasha waits for the late bus.
Across the street waits another passenger, more of a silhouette, actually.
Before she can fix her gaze, her bus arrives and Natasha begins her shift as driver.
As for the wraith across the way, where did it go?
Horror short makes good use of tension and jump scares.
I will cut the ending some slack and hope it works better on large screen, say at a festival.

Sex And The Swastika - 1999 - UK

Sex And The Swastika - 1999 - 5/10

 
Tenuous documentary lacks hard facts to be compelling.
British set up radio station airing music, German news, and scurrilous rumors.
Propaganda of sexual peculiarities or appetites of leaders.
Objective - ridicule command and undermine Wehrmacht  morale.
Unfortunately, no tapes exist, only scripts.
Millions of slanderous, pornographic leaflets were created and distributed.
After the war - evidence was ordered destroyed.
Second thread - Americans assign a psychiatrist to profile Hitler.
He interviews ex-party officials with axes to grind, his conclusions are wide spectrum and outrageous.
Do Allies utilize his analysis?  No.
Titillating title, little else.