Audition - 1999 - Japan

Audition - 1999 - 7/10
AKA - Ōdishon  //  オーディション

 
Blind dates are the poor man’s crapshoot.  Prospects from friends or family even worse.
Say, why not devise questions, create an audition set, and let attractive candidates talk naturally?
Shigeharu even has a friend who is a film producer, willing to assist.
And the plan works!  He makes a connection with an absolutely gorgeous Asami.
As with all romance stories, there are a few hiccups to overcome.
Gleefully perverse Takashi Miike “date” film grows ever more unsettling as the clock ticks.
Admired and reviled by critics, a warped mirror to pinku eiga.
Not for the squeamish.

Ghost Story - 1982 - USA

Ghost Story - 1982 - 6/10

 
A gentlemen’s secret, suppressed for fifty years, seems to have awoken.
The old men, once vital, now frail, realize a supernatural predator has returned.
This is late night, cozy horror, already out of step with the times.
Casting is impeccable, with three Hollywood icons (Fairbanks, Astaire, Douglas) in final performances.
Eroticism and violence are tightly reined, so much you can probably watch this uncut on TV nowadays.
During its initial run, and after Dawn Of The Dead and Alien, this just came across as quaint.

Canals: The Making Of A Nation - 2015 - UK

Canals: The Making Of A Nation - 2015 - 7/10

Another canal documentary.
Usually, these focus on the traveler, be they an experienced boat person or some pseudo celebrity who exclaims and gushes in feigned astonishment.
Other docs follow the hiker, traipsing the tow paths.
Those are more picture postcards.

 
This one is more in depth.  Six 30' episodes follow the engineers who dreamed and designed them, geologists who learned to read the earth, financiers who floated stock shares, navvies (navigators) who provided the sheer muscle, and the boat people who worked the narrow boats.

 
Recently restored canals are now flooded with daytrippers and the genteel.
The doc flashes a lens at a more troubling possibility - tenants who cannot afford a home.
Always uncertain is the future, though.

Robert Aickman is not mentioned.

The Bride With White Hair - 1993 - Hong Kong

The Bride With White Hair - 1993 - 6/10
AKA - Bak fat moh lui zyun  // 白髮魔女傳

 
Gracious, what an amazing film!
The uneasy successor to the Wu-Tang clan faces a new enemy.
A highly potent set of conjoined twins, seemingly bent on world annihilation.
Spearheading the army of evil, the Wu-Tang leader’s childhood girlfriend.
Doomed romance, superb use of lighting (indoor sets), wild battle sequences.
Dark fantasy from Hong Kong’s golden era.
Followed by a sequel (it ain’t much).

Magical Mystery Tour - 1967 - UK

Magical Mystery Tour - 1967 - 6/10

 
The movie Beatles’ fans pretend to forget about.
Fab Four (wizards) climb aboard a bus bound for anywhere.
The bus is merely a conveyance to reach assorted destinations.
Once there, a musical number.
Plot is nonexistent in this stoned mess, filmed in the Psychedelic 60’s.
Much of the English daft humor will escape viewers, as well as music hall homages.
Think knock-off, amateurish Monty Python, though they were two years away.
Watch for the music, and for the Beatles.

Ricki And The Flash - 2015 - USA

Ricki And The Flash - 2015 - 5/10

 
Feel-good smoothie about mom who abandoned kids and husband decades earlier to pursue rock n roll fame.
Now she returns to straighten everyone’s lives and remind them how special they are and how much mommy still loves them.
Story is predictable and contrived.  Characters are pencil lite sketches.
The bar where she and her band perform decades old cover songs looks like a cliché, and the lower echelon clientele would never drink enough to keep the rent paid in Tarzana (ain’t no cheap rent in that Valley burg).
Streep likely had fun playing a rocker (even a failure), but the character is as shallow as a birdbath.

The Mechanic - 1972 - USA

The Mechanic - 1972 - 6/10

 
Well made crime mystery examines a professional hitman.
Extensive observation, elaborate preparations, the falling dominoes.
He is getting a little old for the game,  however, and takes on a protégé.
From there on, the film enters darker territory.
The aspiring killer either has trouble listening, or has an agenda.
Restrained throughout, and a perfect vehicle for Bronson.
Less seen today, possibly because audiences demand more flamboyant escapades.

The Pillow Book - 1996 - Netherlands

The Pillow Book - 1996 - 6/10

 
Nagiko, model living in Hong Kong, merges art with physical pleasure
From childhood, her father had written calligraphy on her body and this is now an obsession.
Now an adult, she begins writing stories on the naked bodies of lovers.
As with many Peter Greenaway films, there is a tremendous amount of nudity.
To Westerners, characters and storylines may blur as Asian, yet there are really contrasts of Hong Kong and Japanese cultures, with the injection of Jerome, Nagiko’s lover.
Arthouse, approaching pretentious at times, some visuals recall Kwaidan.
I am convinced when I saw this theatrically, Pillow Book was widescreen.  Everything I read now states Greenaway supervised the 4 X 3 transfer.

It's A Free World - 2007 - UK

It's A Free World - 2007 - 7/10

 
Unpleasant, Ken Loach “message” film about the exploitation of undocumented workers.
Angela is fired from her recruiting job after repulsing a groping male coworker.
Soon enough, she and a friend set up their own black market agency.
Companies want temp workers, day workers, casual workers.
Immigrants, especially illegal immigrants without papers, are less likely to complain when cheated.
The females soon realize there is a lot of profit in flop houses, as well.
So they lease sh!tholes, jam them with illegals, double book the rooms so sleeping is only by shifts.

Others I viewed this with were horrified.  I shrugged and said it was fairly accurate, if over dramatized.
I worked with illegals for many years and most were treated OK, though we had one SOB boss who contacted Immigration every time payroll ran tight.

All Things Must Pass - 2015 - USA

All Things Must Pass - 2015 - 7/10

 
Documentary follows the rise and demise of Tower Records.
History charts the humble beginning to the pinnacle to the disastrous aftermath of “file-sharing.”
Entertaining throughout, though the last section is uncomfortable.
Greybeards share memories (Tower execs, Label moguls, famous shoppers) in between vintage photos.
Smiles all around, but one cannot escape the notion of widespread nepotism at HQ.
By 2004, giant record stores passed into memory, Gen X-ers were likely the last generation to shop the bins.

Rather difficult for me to rate or judge this objectively.
I shopped Tower Records on Sunset Blvd at least once a month during the 70's.
This was paradise for music buffs.  Even when I was stone broke, it was comforting to peruse endless albums.
Peaches was expensive, Licorice Pizza more so, Wherehouse and Music + were affordable, but lacked depth.
The Valley had a Tower in Van Nuys, but it was never as thrilling as the Sunset store.
I still own tons of recordings.  CDs sound superior, vinyl holds memories.

The bittersweet finale I understood personally.
A decade after shopping one last time inside Tower Records, I started working for Sound Warehouse, a rival deep catalogue record shop, and would be there until I switched off the lights in 2004.
The application form asked whether “taking drugs or alcohol has ever interfered with your work?"  That was the drug test.
It was one of the coolest jobs in the world.  Sadly, new generations will never get the chance.
In the 80's, the staff were knowledgeable and passionate music snobs, clubbers, collectors.  Half the crew was female, always, which was and remains unheard of in the extremely sexist record store universe.
By 2000, most of my coworkers had never bought an album in their life.  They downloaded tens of thousands of tunes that they never listened to.  Music was free, and free had no perceived value.
Causes for the demise of the music industry were referenced in All Things Must Pass.
Won’t bother to repeat them.  Things truly do vanish, however.
Traditions, technology, burger joints, friends, you name it.
Good documentary.  Likely to resonate more with viewers aged 40 or older.

10 minutes inside Tower Records - Sunset Blvd.
Back in the early 70's -

https://archive.org/details/casacsh_000018

Jeremiah Johnson - 1972 - USA

Jeremiah Johnson - 1972 - 6/10

 
AKA “Liver-Eating Johnson” though the film underplays that.
Redford plays ex-soldier turned fur trapper in the Rockies.
Natives instruct him in survival, and he does well.
Until he incurs the wrath of the Crow tribe and deadly conflicts become routine.
Most of the film is Johnson’s middle years, peaceful homestead soon bathed in blood.
The tone is restrained, despite numerous battles.
Photography is sublime throughout.

Hedwig And The Angry Inch - 2001 - USA

Hedwig And The Angry Inch - 2001 - 7/10

 
Cautionary tale of gender reassignment gone wrong.
Betrayed in love (several times) Hedwig chases a more famous ex, while performing with her glam band at whatever venues they can scrounge up.
To reveal more is unnecessary spoilage.
The convoluted tale is funny and sad, rage and acceptance.
Loaded with catchy music numbers.
I saw this in an almost empty movie house.  Later, during a live show, I sat next to the car wash attendee.

O J: Made In America - 2016 - USA

O J: Made In America - 2016 - 8/10

 
ALERT - This is the 5 part documentary - NOT the Hollywoodized mini-series, The People v. O.J. Simpson.

Outstanding documentary of the rise, fall, ultimately bizarre demise of charismatic O J Simpson.
From impoverished childhood, to college glory with USC Trojans, NFL achievements, forays into film.

 
Then murders and subsequent trials.  Numerous details I knew nothing about (eg: wife #1, Marcus ...).
E04 is particularly good at displaying the defense team strategy and tag team approach.
E05 reveals the shadowy years between the civil trial and the Las Vegas lunacy.
Unresolved American issues of race, class, wealth are dispassionately exposed.
Well researched, thorough, extensive - often painful - interviews, balanced and seemingly fair.

One is left with the disquieting feeling of having witnessed
“privileged justice” followed years later with “payback justice.”
Neither casts the judicial system in an honorable light.

Top Girls - 2019 - UK

Top Girls - 2019 - 7/10

 
In the first act, a clutch of strong women meet for lunch in a celestial fern bar.
Pope Joan, Isabella Bird, Dull Gret, Patient Griselda, Lady Niho.
Most talk of lovers, children they had (and lost), navigating the masculine world.
As they grow more inebriated, conversations often touch on tragedies, though mirth abides.
Act Two switches to 1981, Thatcher England, where opportunities for women are opening.
Good and bad, as women can now be a callous and cruel as men.
The first half definitely funnier, the second carries an unexpected poignant tone, as we live through an era where woman’s rights are being chipped away by fearful men.

The Notorious Landlady - 1962 - USA

The Notorious Landlady - 1962 - 6/10

Gridley of the US State Department is transferred to London.
He finds accommodations at Grubbage Square, well appointed and close to work.
Mrs. Hardwicke, landlady, is an ex-pat Yank, and either divorced, separated or widowed.
No matter, she’s easy to look at, possessing a gorgeous set of hazel eyes.

 
Then Gridley finds out Scotland Yard believes Mrs. Hardwicke murdered her husband.
And all the neighbors, observant as cats, have decided he will be victim number two.
The story staggers like a drunk down a foggy lane.  Mystery, murder, Gothic, comedy.
If an extremely silly finale does not put you off, this makes for a charming rom-com.

Double Love - 1925 - France

Double Love - 1925 - 6/10
AKA - Le Double Amour

 
On one side of the club, Laure leads the charity gala, raising money for the poor.
On the other, Jacques, having gambled away his own fortune, having lost Laure’s jewels, is now losing the charity funds she entrusted to him.
Jacques flees, Laure loses her wealth, her status, her reputation.
Stuffy drama about the perils of gambling and a woman drawn to extremely weak willed men.
Despite that, one views this for Jean Epstein’s directorial flourishes.
His editing is masterful, particularly the lap dissolves.
Cavernous sets are remarkable, as well, and the reaction shots of secondary and tertiary characters is generous.
Subs = https://subscene.com/subtitles/le-double-amour/english/2864450

Whiplash - 1948 - USA

Whiplash - 1948 - 6/10

 
Painter, ex-pugilist, meets glamorous, mysterious woman and is smitten.
Typical of the 40’s, they fall in love within one day and make wedding plans.
Then she’s gone, and the film leaves Romanceland and enters Noirville.
Our mug tracks her down:  she’s the “property” of a nightclub owner, who also manages boxers.
Before you can ask,  “How old is Dane Clark?”  he is in the gym, in the ring, proving himself.
Well crafted film has muddled script, unconvincing leads, sorry fights.
Best are Zachery Scott as the manipulative villain and Eve Arden (“I'm not exactly beautiful but I am available.”).

3 Beauties - 2014 - Venezuela

3 Beauties - 2014 - 5/10
AKA - 3 Bellezas

 
Forced, unfunny “comedy” from Venezuela.
Beauty contestant failure, now single mother, drums the path to runway on her small daughters.
The son is nothing.  “Forget him.  He’ll only grow into a hairy, smelly man.”
She also constantly reminds the girls,  “You are not sisters - you are rivals.”
Resentments and grudges build, from childhood to the national competition.
If you can reference JonBenét, you ought to cringe at this.
Females I viewed this with totally recognized the mother character.
Beware DVD subtitles.  Most ungrammatical, though entertaining.

Son Of Saul - 2015 - Hungary

Son Of Saul - 2015 - 8/10

 
Hungarian film set inside camp Auschwitz during its gruesome height.
Told from the point of view of the Sonderkommandos, Jewish prisoners forced to assist the Nazis with “shepherding,” cleaning, and coverup.
One of the prisoners, when confronted with the death of a small boy, either has a breakdown or decides to act like a Mensch and give the child a proper Kaddish burial.
All manner of ugly things are ongoing in the background, out of focus or one only sees fragments.
One late night sequence is a harrowing view of living in Hell on borrowed time.
Interesting is the unseen order among prisoners, how they assist and blackmail each other.
Imaginative and fresh, dense with visuals.  Arresting sound design.

Shattered - 1921 - Germany

Shattered - 1921 - 5/10
AKA - Scherben

 
Bahnwärter is a railman, he checks the crossties and rails daily.
He lives an isolated life with his wife and daughter.
Days are dull, the family is poor, yet they seem happy.
An inspector arrives and spends four days with them.
While Bahnwärter walks the tracks, the inspector rapes the daughter.
A distraught mother races outside into freezing winter.
Claustrophobic melodrama suffers from glacial pacing and overwrought acting.

Mission Kashmir - 2000 - India

Mission Kashmir - 2000 - 6/10

 
After his parents are killed, a young boy is adopted by a policeman and his wife.
Were his parents terrorists?  And who killed them?  Consider the police officer.
Crackling good Hindi film of vengeance and anger.
Explosive action scenes, basic plot (though these are adults, not eternal adolescents).
Romance elements are minimized, and the songs serve the plot.  “Bumbro” is a mad highlight.
Newcomer Hrithik Roshan (above) was on the brink of superstardom.
Hardly the stereotyped Bollywood production, this should please action / thriller fans.