Violent Cop - 1989 - Japan

Violent Cop - 1989 - 6/10
AKA - Sono Otoko, Kyōbō ni Tsuki // その男、凶暴につき

 
Detective Azuma gets the job done.
If he breaks rules, busts heads, threatens suspects with a gun, superiors chastise him, then look the other way.
He is the attack dog on the force, until one beating too many crosses the line.
Even suspended, he is a menacing vigilante.
Early Takeshi Kitano film, his directorial debut, this still startles.
The rhythm of tension exploding into violence is more staccato paced in this than in later works.
Definitely a grubby, giddy joyride.

Mau Mau Sex Sex - 2001 - USA

Mau Mau Sex Sex - 2001 - 5/10

 
Promising title proves more come-on and tease instead of meat, or at least scented petals.
Documentary of exploitation filmmakers David F. Friedman and Dan Sonney.
History is quickly sketched, with a fistful of obscure film clips.
Half the doc follows the then-retired gents, both in their 80's.
Dining in the restaurant, puttering in the house, strolling the carnival.
Now RIP, they come across as likeable old farts (meant nicely).
I’ve probably watched a half dozen of their films;  I recall as cheap and silly.
Nudie cuties, roughies, swept away as tastes shifted to raunchy XXX.

Sirens - 1994 - Australia

Sirens - 1994 - 6/10

Young missionary and his wife (Hugh Grant, Tara Fitzgerald) are sent to Australia
Within his parish is Norman Lindsay, eminent artist of nudes and sacrilegious subject matter.
The minster seems to visit every time Lindsay’s three models are disrobed, and flirting.

 
Although tame today, the artist and his works were highly controversial in the 1920’s.
The narrative, if you are not too distracted by stretches of naked flesh, is soft temptation.
As well as liberation and emancipation, sexual and feminine.
Not a “great” film, still a personal favorite that I have watched numerous times.

Robin And Marian - 1976 - USA

Robin And Marian - 1976 - 6/10

 
As in Robin Hood and Maid Marian, well past their youth.
Aged now, Robin returns from yet another Crusade, and finds Marian in a convent, the Sheriff of Nottingham in control.
The band of “merry men” are now, like Robin, old and tired.
Sister Marian, casts a suspicious eye at the old love who so casually abandoned her, twenty years earlier.
The story, perhaps reflecting the characters, is suffused with twilight and sunset.
Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn have undeniable chemistry, however.
The pitch for this must have sounded terrific, although afterwards, you will run for Errol Flynn.

A Bigger Splash - 2015 - Italy

A Bigger Splash - 2015 - 7/10

Deliciously unpleasant story of pop idol secluding herself on remote Pantelleria after vocal surgery.
Intruders arrive.  Her ex (manager/lover/producer) with his sullen daughter.

\

 
Ralph Fiennes excels as hyper-kinetic, limelight hogging noise unit.
High energy, passive aggressive, pushy, sarcastic, manipulative, utterly toxic.
One of those souls who demand the spotlight, even though his gifts are minimal.
Fiennes’ character unsettles everyone.  His relationship with his daughter is uncomfortably cozy.
One wonders why the “normal” individuals endure him, though that is obliquely explained.
Warning, characters throughout are trolls or door mats.
Though not written by her, material evocative of Patricia Highsmith novels.

Without Warning - 1952 - USA

Without Warning - 1952 - 6/10

 
Blonde bar-crawlers are being stalked by a serial killer.
Stabbed to death with scissors like weapon.
Labeled Noir, but it falls into the thriller / police procedural category.
We see the killer early on, a social misfit and a loner.
Then an omniscient voice follows from one department to another of crack Los Angeles police.
Prints, fabric analysis, head shrinker (profiler not a term yet).
Predictable, though one wonders how high the body count will rise.
Most of the women have bad Phyllis Dietrichson hairdos.

The Namesake - 2006 - USA

The Namesake - 2006 - 7/10

 
Young Gogol and father out on the beach.
Named after his father’s favorite author, he is born in the USA, but maintains Bengali roots.
Not so much a coming of age tale, instead showing his relations with family and girlfriends.
The latter are a series of cultural misunderstandings, and the lure of the old flame.
Leisurely paced film should resonate with all immigrants, from whatever nation.
Sidetrips to Delhi beautifully shot, whereas New York seems in eternal winter.

Grace Of My Heart - 1996 - USA

Grace Of My Heart - 1996 - 6/10

 
Aspiring singer wins a talent contest, leading to a recording deal.
A year on, still no record, she is persuaded to be a songwriter.
Fanciful retelling of Carole King and her years in the Brill Building.
Knowledgeable souls may glimpse “versions” of Phil Spector, Gerry Goffin, Brian Wilson, Lesley Gore …
The Brill material is fun, if fantasy.  West Coast act drags the film down.
Too long, and possibly made ten years too late.
Hey, and a shoutout to WKEE!  Remember, O’Shea loves you best.

Who Killed Teddy Bear - 1965 - USA

Who Killed Teddy Bear - 1965 - 7/10

 
Aspiring actress Norah (Juliet Prowse) finds a DJ gig at a busy New York nightclub.
Someone, however, is stalking her, and keeps phoning her home, then the club.
Club owner (Elaine Stritch) offers streetwise advice, waiter (Sal Mineo) is also sympathetic.
Much is part and parcel of New York in the 60’s, a seedy, abrasive environment.
Police try to help, but they are cynical and overworked.
Film is adept at offering various suspects.
One also gets an eye-opening look at Broadway, and current shows, as Norah walks from one audition to another.
Likewise, Times Square, with its burlesque clubs, XXX theaters, adult bookstores.
Sal Mineo in peak form in this part Noir, part grindhouse, pure sleaze, leaving us as voyeurs of perverse sexuality.

Strangerland - 2015 - Australia

Strangerland - 2015 - 6/10

 
City family relocates to small town oblivion and have trouble fitting in.
They had to leave the big city after their underage daughter got into trouble with a male teacher.
In the new redneck burg, she skips in skimpy clothes in front of new males.  Making friends.
One morning, daughter and son have disappeared into the Outback.
Parents (Joseph Fiennes and Nicole Kidman) enlist the locals to start searching.
Dust and sand seem to be everywhere in this, and no one has air-conditioning!
None of the residents want to help those entitled city types.  There is an undercurrent of class distinction and simmering resentment.  Caught in the middle is the local cop (Hugo Weaving).
The married couple seem to harbor several dark secrets, of which only half emerge.
Brooding character studies, with mysteries partially resolved.

Men Of Crisis, The Harvey Wallinger Story - 1972 - USA

Men Of Crisis, The Harvey Wallinger Story - 1972 - 6/10

 
I ought to award this eight more points for sheer chutzpah.
In this, one of the most obscure of Allen films, he distills his dislike of Nixon into a barbed satire.
Predating Zelig by two decades, he constructs a faux documentary, that, I suspect, many would believe.
Nixon had been reelected by a substantial margin in 1972, which might be why PBS refused to air this.

Train To Busan - 2016 - S Korea

Train To Busan - 2016 - 6/10
AKA - Busanhaeng / 부 산 행

 
Zombies pack a high speed train!
I mean, really, do you need to know more?
Cities are over run with ravenous dead!
Surviving passengers must fight their way to forward compartments!!
Zombies are of the sprinter variety and only eat “live” meat, not zombie meat.
Unlike similar train flick Snowpiercer which I jeered, I liked this better.

Venus Of The South Seas - 1924 - New Zealand

Venus Of The South Seas - 1924 - 5/10

 
John Royal owns an island, where happy natives deep water dive for pearls.
On day, daughter Shona will inherit everything.
So, shifty skipper Drake decides to woo and marry the future heiress.
Melodrama enhanced by several lengthy underwater scenes.
Plus, midway there is a fairytale of Princess Gwytha asking the Little Mermaid to help her rescue the Prince of Dreams.

Deadly Tropics - 2019 - France

Deadly Tropics - 2019 - 6/10
AKA - Tropiques Criminels

 
After a career disgrace, Sainte-Rose and her two teenage children relocate to Martinique.
She is the new police commander, assigned the usual TV stereotyped colleagues.
Crime series, the stories are one-offs, so no soap opera arc to follow.
Murders aplenty, though the settings are postcard beautiful.
Series could be an advertisement from the tourist board, especially for viewers freezing in January.
Clean sidewalks, sunny waters, lush, green leaves.
What really caught my eye is how THIN everyone is.
There is a S02.

The Iron Rose - 1973 - France

The Iron Rose - 1973 - 7/10
AKA - La Rose du Fer // The Rose Of Iron

 
Moody, minimalist Jean Rollin film.
When most think of this director’s oeuvre, key words are vampires and lesbians.
None of that here.  In fact, this does not even qualify as Horror.
During a wedding banquet, a young male guest stands up and delivers a poem on death.
Applause across the room.  French aplomb.
Moved, a pretty girl agrees to share a bicycle date with him the next day.
He pedals to a cemetery and in they stroll.  The cemetery is magnificent, by the way.  A third character.
The pair have a picnic, enjoy themselves in a crypt, fail to hear the clock strike 12 - strike 2 - strike 5.
Gates are locked and the couple discover they are utterly lost.
Warning - There is next to no plot in this.  Iron Rose is pure mood and atmosphere.
Typical of Rollin’s work, a dreamlike quality suffuses the look.
The couple wander the tombstones and lose their direction, on several levels.
Again, this is not a horror film.
Scenes are laden with symbolism, some discernible, others a mystery.
Fans of the director should seek this out.  Newcomers ought to find an alternative.

The Picture Of Dorian Gray - 2021 - UK

The Picture Of Dorian Gray - 2021 - 6/10

 
Oscar Wilde’s decadent tale plugs into the digital age.
Here, Dorian is a cross between a heavy tweeter and social influencer.
Followers increase exponentially, after Dorian’s dark bargain.
In this, however, his online image always stays fresh, charming, while his true face displays corruption.
An early Covid pandemic play attempt, and one of the better ones.
The narrative is composed of interviews and archival footage of Dorian, Basil and Sybil.
Those familiar with the source will notice, possibly delight in, the modifications to the narrative.

Pictures Only - 2021 - USA

Pictures Only - 2021 - 7/10

 
Louise faces a rent increase, AND her job at the Institute has been downsized.
Family depends on her income, and the classifieds aren’t enticing.
Then her friend Jo tells her Uncle Booker may be hiring.
That proves to be a major career shift.
Terrific slice of life short.  Well cast with thoughtful costumes and set design.
This evokes the 1950’s.  Clothes, hairstyles, and folks dressed to the nines.

And Soon The Darkness - 1970 - UK

And Soon The Darkness - 1970 - 6/10

 
Slow burn thriller, set in rural France.
Two young English nurses are cycling through the countryside.
After an argument, they separate and one disappears.
From this point, tension mounts.
Strangers, the woods, even the language barrier, show how out of her depth is the single female.
At 90”, this still feels overlong, owing to slow pacing and limited narrative.
The French dialogue is NOT subtitled, which is a plus, as you are as lost as the tourist girls.

Take A Girl Like You - 1969 - UK

Take A Girl Like You - 1969 - 6/10

 
British romantic comedy of cavalier bachelor Oliver Reed meeting Hayley Mills (AKA - Miss Virgin).
Story is scant more than flirting, groping, blue-balled frustration.
Noel Harrison plays rich playboy hoping to save his manor from council airport expansion.
He also displays a lighter touch with the ladies, most of whom (with the exception of Miss Mills) are eager for the impromptu romp, no matter the settings.
Very Swinging 60's attitude pervades, though Reed seems way too old for the role.
To be fair, this was probably filmed in '68 and Reed would have been 30.  He looks 45, however.
Watch for Penelope Keith as - surprise - a Tory poll worker.