Melody - 1971 - UK

Melody - 1971 - 6/10

 
While set in 1970, this could be a decade earlier, or in Victorian times.
Boy meets girl.  They hit it off, really hit it off, so much they contemplate marriage.
Not in the future, either.  As soon as possible.
Slight roadblock, Melody and Daniel are 11 years old.
This story of innocent romance has an undeniable sweetness to it.
A lesser director would have laced this with sniggering innuendo or sarcasm.
Indeed, this still retains some lingering 60’s optimism.
Lovely soundtrack by the Bee Gees (and one by CSNY).

Eleventh Hour (US) - 2008 - USA

Eleventh Hour (US) - 2008 - 6/10

 
Rufus Sewell stars as *Jacob* Hood, scientist who works for FBI to solve crimes, outbreaks, disasters.
Assigned to protect him is no nonsense female agent.  Hey ... wait a minute ...
Sound familiar?  After the UK series was dropped, creator Stephen Gallagher sold it to CBS.  In fact, three of the episodes are near word for word remakes.
One might assume this would be a no-brainer.  The BBC version was fresher, Stewart the superior actor.
Hold on, though, UK only had four episodes, while the US aired 18.
Despite being a Bruckheimer production, slick visuals do not predominate.
This series remains very much in the mystery thriller genre.
Stories about cloning, genetically modified food, human growth hormone, baby farming, manmade viruses.
Producers either learned from UK failings or the US market wanted a tougher female.  Cute notwithstanding, Hood’s protector has no qualms about shooting her gun or kicking the hell out of suspects.
Overall, the UK series is darker, with uncertain resolutions.  US episodes end more positively.

Eleventh Hour (UK) - 2006 - UK

Eleventh Hour (UK) - 2006 - 6/10

 
Four part series stars Patrick Stewart as Ian Hood, celebrated scientist working with Home Office, to solve crimes, outbreaks and other disasters.  Assigned to protect his is a female agent from Special Branch.
Stories involve cloning, Plague germs, contamination.
The female agent is shamefully written as a liability, more of a Doctor Who companion, asking questions, barely capable of protecting her charge.
Studios often cast one character as an imbecile to make another appear superior.  Feeble writing.
Worth catching for Stewart, who is not too over the top, but if you desire more  ...

That Thing You Do! - 1996 - USA

That Thing You Do! - 1996 - 7/10

 
Rise and exploitation of a one-hit wonder band, circa 1964.
The Wonders, a garage band in Pennsylvania, have a regional hit that attracts a promoter.
They ascend like a Roman candle.
There have been comparisons with The Beatles.
The Wonders replace their drummer, then bassist.  Jimmy seems modeled after Lennon.
The TV appearance is an homage to “A Hard Day’s Night” final concert.
To my mind, however, another credit should go to The Knickerbockers.
They had a massive hit, some minor hits, and were house band for “Where The Action Is.”
Plus, Wonders’ Leo is a ringer for Knick’s Buddy Randell.
Writer / director Tom Hanks is old enough to have remembered them.
The original version moves quicker and beams more innocence.  The extended version bears a different tone.

Hype! - 1996 - USA

Hype! - 1996 - 6/10

 
Documentary on Grunge.  Seattle based, fusion of punk, metal and indie.
Named bands are checked:  Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Mudhoney …
Some remarkable music, though the history seems light.
Grunge’s moment burned briefly, its influence proved nil.
The cautionary element is best.  How Seattle became a “scene,” how the scene was appropriated by the music industry.
As if that never happened before.  British Invasion, San Francisco, Austin.
Know ye, bands are always willing participants when the cash register rings.
Live Forever (2003) is more fun.

Truth - 2015 - USA

Truth - 2015 - 6/10

 
Well acted, over earnest retelling of TV news story gone awry.
Back when Bush vs Kerry was ongoing, CBS aired a report about Bush’s guard duty.
For those blissfully unaware, Kerry served in Vietnam, Bush enlisted in National Guard.
Before fully vetting the facts, the story goes out.
Redford plays reporter Dan Rather, though the film is about the producer, played by Cate Blanchett.
Underlying theme is of business commercializing news.
Everyone tries hard in overlong, deadly serious fare.
Broccoli film of fading era.  News?  Most no longer trust it, their prime source is Facebook or Twit.

Beyond Evil - 2021 - S Korea

Beyond Evil - 2021 - 7/10
AKA - Gwimul  //  怪物

 
Took awhile for the hook to set in this K-drama, but this is a brilliantly written mystery.
New inspector, hotshot from Seoul, arrives to small Munju City, home to unsolved serial killings years before.
By chance (ha!), young Joo-Won is partnered with Dong-Shik, suspect #1 from twenty years earlier.
For the older man, his sister had been a victim, which is why he joined the police and maintains a personal hunt.
The younger guy, well, his motives are unspecified.  All we know is that he is totally overqualified at Munju.
As with many K-dramas, there is team support to bulwark against secrets, conspiracies, corruption.
And this one is packed with secrets, blackmail, subterfuges, and corkscrew twists.
Sixteen part series constructed as halves, where the first eight episodes conclude and splash into the final eight.
Gripping until the end, then the conclusion falters from an underwritten finale.

Aurora Teagarden: Haunted By Murder - 2022 - Canada

Aurora Teagarden: Haunted By Murder - 2022 - 5/10

 
Holy moly!  At last, at last, this string of 18 Hallmark mysteries has ended!  (star Candace Bure has departed)
Anyway, Aurora, now married, overhears at the book club that her mom has bought the haunted house.
Flashback to high school, where Aurora and Sally discovered a corpse in said building.
Yes, this reawakens an old mystery.
Nor does it matter who dunnit.  Rest assured, the police will not solve this without Aurora and crew’s aid.
To be honest, this is a good one to bow out on, thought still a cookie cutter mystery, sticking like bond-all to predictable formula.
Why are these Hallmark mysteries so popular?
Then again, why are pajama clad superheroes so popular?
Subs = https://subscene.com/subtitles/aurora-teagarden-mysteries-first-season/english/2853264

Legend - 2015 - UK

Legend - 2015 - 6/10

 
Tom Hardy portrays the brothers Kray, crime lords in 60's Swinging London, and is the chief reason to view this.
Hardy riveting as certifiable Ronnie, equally effective as more polished Reggie.
Film starts in early 60's,after the Krays have conquered the East End where they are feared and adored.
Oddly enough, the narrative is told primarily from Reggie’s girlfriend, later wife, Frances.
Consequently, there is little in the way of “gangster” business.  Violence is minimal.
More a character study, especially the triangle between Ronnie - Reggie - Frances.
Atmospheric set designs.  Nice, unfamiliar soundtrack.  Fine acting all around.
Still, the film is sorely lacking in oomph.
Fifteen minutes of Guy Ritchie would have juiced this up.

Final Offer - 2018 - USA

Final Offer - 2018 - 6/10

 
Henry, a bottom fishing attorney, rouses from another hangover in the well appointed office.
Where Olivia launches negotiations.
At stake, pretty much the survival of the planet, although Olivia seems willing to cut a small, very small, deal.
SciFi short is more horror than science, more comedy than terror.
Ever attended the morning work conference, half intoxicated?
This is for you.
Subs = https://subscene.com/subtitles/final-offer/english/2850723

Oscar Wilde - 1960 - UK

Oscar Wilde - 1960 - 6/10

 
The glory years for the playwright, height of fame masking the whispers.
Robert Morley flawless as Wilde, in panache and moods.
Yes, I know some quibble he is too old.  John Neville equally fine as Bosie.
Film fairly straightforward, and seems faithful to everything I have read about the man.
To be honest, it does appear to have had budget restrictions.
A true film about Wilde should have been opulent to the nth degree.
I imagine this was quite the financial risk when this came out, and homosexuality still outlawed.

Secret Agent - 2016 - UK

Secret Agent - 2016 - 6/10

 
Three part drama of anarchist activity in Victorian London.
Verloc has infiltrated a Russian terror cell.
He is in thrall to his paymasters, the Russian embassy, and he is also in the pocket of a British copper.
Fear of exposure and betrayal leave him in constant dread.  Business affairs are complicated, family likewise.
Factions push him into bombing as political statement.
Rather dour adaptation of little known Joseph Conrad novel.
Toby Jones excellent as the shifty, blame-everyone-else Verloc.
Ian Hart dominates, though, as the fanatical bomb-maker, the Professor.

 

Mommie Dearest - 1981 - USA

Mommie Dearest - 1981 - 6/10

 
“No wire coat-hangers!”
Based on a then-popular, tell-all book by Joan Crawford’s daughter.
(Published after Crawford’s death.)
Allegedly a biography, this is so over the top, it must be seen to be believed.
Faye Dunaway unforgettable as the furious, over-controlling mother and lover.
The book was a hatchet job, the film a parody.
Points awarded for sheer camp value.

Macbeth - 1971 - UK

Macbeth - 1971 - 7/10

 
Polanski’s gory adaptation of Shakespeare’s gruesome play of treachery and revenge.
Scottish laird Macbeth and his wife, plot to assassinate the king, seize the throne.
This was after a trio of witches issued a prophesy, of sorts.
The atmosphere in this is steeped in Gothic and Horror.
Perpetually overcast skies constantly darken the mood.
A harsh, cold, brutish world, this ain’t an MGM costumer.
Not stuffy Shakespeare, but a lurid shocker.

Love & Friendship - 2016 - UK

Love & Friendship - 2016 - 6/10

 
Flawed, yet enjoyable adaptation of an obscure Jane Austen novella.
The movie is based on “Lady Susan”, written when Austen was 18, and not “Love and Freindship” (misspelling correct) which was penned four years earlier.
Lady Susan, an unscrupulous widow, sets out to find rich, easy to control husbands for herself and her daughter.
She flirts, conducts affairs, oppresses her daughter, imposes on her relations.
A right piece of work.
Costumes, set design, photography are all excellent.  Acting, top rate.
The pacing if off, however.  Too modern.  The story dashes breakneck throughout.
Numerous characters introduced, yet several are underutilized.  Stephen Fry = 2 brief scenes.
More air, a longer cut would help immeasurably.
Amusing entertainment, nevertheless, and Austen fans will find this irresistible.

Bound - 1996 - USA

Bound - 1996 - 7/10

 
Ex-con Corky, who works at the apartment building, catches the eye of neighbor Violet.
Violet invents an excuse for them to meet, and the two soon give in to desire.
Standard enough fare, perhaps edgy with the lesbian angle, but then there is Violet’s boyfriend.
Caesar is a Mob money launderer (literally), and the girls decide to fleece him.
Showpiece debut by the Wachowskis is an outstanding low budget affair.
Bold, powerful support (Joe Pantoliano enjoyed a streak afterward), yet the film belongs to the ladies:  Gina Gershon and Meg Tilly in this subversive Neo-Noir.

Love And Death - 1975 - USA

Love And Death - 1975 - 6/10

Napoleon invades Austria and cowardly Boris is conscripted into the Russian army.
Miraculously, he survives, which leaves him free to marry cousin Sonja, who is less than thrilled.
Neither her first choice, nor is he exactly immune to temptations.

 
Woody Allen’s most “Russian” film leans heavily on literature, music and stereotypes.
For many, this is Allen’s last “good” film, stuffed with jokes, gags, puns, sexy humor.
For others, this is where he starts writing more layered films, with serious undercurrents.
Knowledge of Tolstoy and Dostoyevski is not essential, but may help you to pick up references.

San Francisco 2.0 - 2015 - USA

San Francisco 2.0 - 2015 - 6/10

 
Documentary by Alexandra Pelosi.
For non-USA residents, she is the daughter of current / ex House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi.
Straight off, I braced for a “message” so was not surprised.
Doc charts affluent developers of the Bay city versus poor folks being squeezed out.
Note image above.  Everything is disposable.  Even a legendary ballpark.
By and large, the poor are renters living on rent control.
Landlords want to quadruple rent for rich Millennials working in burgeoning tech firms.
Never mind that so many are start-up unicorns.
Talking heads (Robert Reich, Jerry Brown) cite vanishing diversity, class inequality, diminished opportunities...
Sure, boss, whatever.  Landowners always want top return, tax man wants higher property taxes, hipsters will pay for trendy.
How quick do you think developers and City Hall can jerry-rig the system?
Lower orders, if your education and work skills are inferior, then your pie shall be humble.
Been that way since Caesar.

Aside - I have visited San Francisco regularly for over a decade.
Political liberalism aside, the true power brokers always strike me as conservatives.
Folks often praise diversity, while prize exclusivity.