Lady Snowblood - 1973 - Japan

Lady Snowblood - 1973 - 7/10
AKA - Shurayukihime  // 修羅雪姫

 
Vengeance, born in the snow, swaddled in prison clothes.
Sato’s husband and son are murdered by village criminals.
After she kills one of the attackers, she is sent to prison where she sleeps with the guards.
Why?  She hopes for a child to carry on her revenge.
Enter daughter Yuki.
While this film contains deadly fights and outrageous bloodletting, it is rungs above routine actioners.
The photography is exquisite, backstories and methodology serve a soiled narrative.
This film was later plundered wholesale by another, who credited himownself as writer.

Total Recall - 1990 - USA

Total Recall - 1990 - 7/10

 
Get your ass to Mars.
Construction worker Quaid suffers recurring nightmares.  Wife and coworkers keep a worried eye on him.
Nevertheless, they fail to notice when he visits an implant outlet, and buys the memory of a vacation.
Then all hell breaks loose, and he is pursued across the city by gun happy agents.
So where does he go?  Naturally, the fourth planet.
Based loosely on Philip K. Dick’s novel, this is a 90’s action film on steroids.
Verhoeven’s rendition is over the top and constantly entertaining.
Sinister villains Michael Ironside and Ronny Cox, and for Sharon Stone, a breakout role.
For me, sadly, this was the last Schwarzenegger film I really liked.

Hidden Identity - 2015 - S Korea

Hidden Identity - 2015 - 5/10
AKA - 신분을 숨겨라

 
Have only my own impatient self to blame for this.
Normally, with J-doramas and K-dramas, I wait to read end of year reviews on Dramabeans or similar sites.
Hidden Identity hailed from the same crew that did Bad Guys and had an excited buzz.
So, I didn’t bother reading any comments.  More fool me.
Elite, 5-member unit works outside usual law enforcement agencies to topple criminals.
Arc of the narrative is the pursuit of “The Ghost,” a mysterious unknown mastermind who is plotting ... something.
Action primarily fisticuffs, production values cheap, script padded, in run-of-the-mill cop show.
16 episodes ought to have been trimmed to 10.
Every character is wooden faced serious.  At first I blamed bad acting, but I had seen these actors in IRIS, Bridal Mask, Vampire Prosecutor, as well as several movies where they were more than capable.
No, the fault is clichéd writing and lame directing.  Can’t say how many lengthy reaction shots of every single team member I saw.  Easily two or three times an episode.
Hidden Identity = Boring Identity.

What Happened Was - 1993 - USA

What Happened Was - 1993 - 7/10

You joke with coworkers, maybe go out for a drink, flirt if you want stokes.
But you don’t date coworkers.  Understand?  NEVER date coworkers!
Jackie invites Michael to her apartment for dinner.
Dinner, right?  Not a date.  And how would you perceive this, big boy?

 
Both are socially awkward.  Youth gone.  Dating scene behind them.
They are nervous, misreading signals left and right.
Trying to relieve anxiety, each utter jokes that misfire.  Badly. Cringe worthy.
I’m barking at the TV, telling him to compliment her hair, her dress, quit mansplaining.
My bride is telling Jackie, don’t try so hard, settle down, stop talking so much.
Turns out both are closet writers, and Jackie draws him into her closet and reads one of her children’s stories.

 
Mother of God.
Repeat.  Don’t date coworkers.  Understand?  NEVER date coworkers!
Even when I first met Zelda, even when she repeatedly hit on me.
I refused to go out with her … until I got fired.

Biarritz Surf Gang - 2017 - France

Biarritz Surf Gang - 2017 - 6/10

 
In 1980, the French gang owns the waves at La Grande Plage.  The waves, the girls, the trophies, the drugs.
With tournaments, comes competition:  Americans, South Africans, Australians.
For whatever reason, they really had a problem with the latter.  Probably because the Aussies took the girls.
At home or away, the French were a destructive bunch, smashing property, brawling, getting loaded.
Six members are interviewed and profiled.  Drugs and crime claimed half.
While some went pro and surfed in Bali, Hawaii, the world, others lived behind bars.
Documentary suffers from excessive, rapid cutting.
Character studies are fine, though viewers desiring a traditional surf doc should seek elsewhere.

The Mad Doctor - 1940 - USA

The Mad Doctor - 1940 - 5/10

Dull mystery / thriller, not completely without interest.
After psychiatrist’s ill bride tires of being sick and expires, he relocates to the big city.
Where he quickly meets a suicidal female with a tendency to stand on the outside ledge of tall buildings.
Luckily for her, he’s a psychiatrist.  Fortunately for him, she’s rich.  An heiress.
Predictable, slow in stretches, with a title that telegraphs any plot twists.

 
Ole Basil Rathbone (the shrink) and Martin Kosleck (chauffeur / sidekick) maintain a curious, eye raising relationship throughout.
Apparently the men live together and share a past studded with troublesome secrets.
They bicker, scheme, and engage in dark business together.
How this escaped Production Code censors is beyond me.

Trapped - 1949 - USA

Trapped - 1949 - 6/10

 
Counterfeiters vs. the Secret Service.
This starts off as a docu-drama of G-men and their efforts protecting the great American way.
Then settles down to business, as the Feds spring a convict they think they can control.
Ha!  Nobody pulls the strings on this guy (an ice cold Lloyd Bridges).
He wants his gang back, he wants his old flame (smoldering Barbara Payton), and he wants the plates.
The deck is stacked in this Noir, and you suspect how events are going to roll.
Yet you watch and root for the bad guys.
Because life ain’t fair for none of us, especially for those who take their chances.

Temptress Of A Thousand Faces - 1969 - Hong Kong

Temptress Of A Thousand Faces - 1969 - 6/10
AKA - Qian Mian mo Nu  //  千面魔女

 
Energetic Hong Kong crime spree finds the above villainess robbing the elite.
“The world is full of rich and powerful people, who devise and exploit loopholes.  They are no better.”
A nice little dig, that the filmmakers deliver then return to action.
And Lordy, this film has the action.  Shootouts, Kung fu fights, girl fights. thrilling escapes.
Other times, our femme fatale deals with do-gooder women who try to stop her.
True to her name, she dons a face mask of her rival, then beds the boyfriend, squeezing him dry, all the time letting the goody two-shoes watch.
Truly crazy film with an army of female warriors, the top secret base, all manner of tortures.
More than anything, what this reminds me of is Danger: Diabolik (1968).

A Decade Under The Influence - 2003 - USA

A Decade Under The Influence - 2003 - 7/10

 
Broad overview of US filmmaking in the freewheeling 70's.
At the close of the 60's, film moguls passed into the sunset, and what seemed to get released were cash bleeding musicals.
Independent directors, taking their cues from European arthouse films of the 60's, stepped into the creative vacuum.
Stories were less epic, less fantasy, more personal, more relatable to modern audiences.
Doc covers a lot of ground in 2 hours.  A multi-episode series might have been better.  That said, since this first aired in 2003, many of the commentators have died.  So perhaps this captures voices that might have been lost.

 
Many individuals not mentioned, or they declined to participate.  That’s always the way these shows go.
The end of the 70's saw smash commercial hits Jaws and Star Wars earn record profits.
Investors purchased studios as cash cows, focused on blockbusters and tent poles, and dialed down personal films.
Doc assumes passing familiarity with titles of the era.

Dark City - 1998 - Australia

Dark City - 1998 - 7/10

 
John Murdoch wakes, mind a blank, not knowing his identity or name.
One thing he learns dead soon, he is wanted for a string of ugly murders.
A detective is assigned and the first person he investigates is Murdoch’s nightclub singer wife.
Murders, amnesia, police, nightclub singer, this is full bore Noir.
Only this is far more, with puppet masters yanking the strings nightly.
An audacious film, melding SciFi and Noir, an elusive quarry and rival hunters.
Director Proyas, who burst out of the gate with a few terrific outings, now seems to have faded.

Key Witness - 1947 - USA

Key Witness - 1947 - 5/10

 
Embarrassing B-film, grouped with Noir, but is more a feeble attempt.
Milton is a draftsman for an architectural firm.
Spare time, he invents novelties.  Mostly, though he is a weak willed doormat
While Milton’s wife is away, his buddy drags him to the horse races then brings girls to his home!
Of course Milton, who still sleeps in twin beds with the missus, doesn’t know which end of the female is which, and he falls asleep in his bed.  While his date gets herself murdered.
From here, the plot gets increasingly inane.
For a Columbia film, this looks extremely cheap.  The photography, the sets, shoot, the clothes don’t fit!
And the script is nonsense, waddling from one idea to another like a drunken goose.

The Monster - 1925 - USA

The Monster - 1925 - 5/10

On lonely country road, cars crash and drivers disappear.  Most perplexing to dense locals.
Meek clerk studies his “How To Be A Detective” manual and wonders aloud (in inter-titles) about the empty mental institution nearby.
First third of film packed with stale jokes, uninspired gags.
Naturally, a trio wind up in the sanitarium.

 
Look out!  The asylum director is none other than Lon Chaney.
Events darken considerably, though comic relief springs at the worst moments.
One wonders if film makers worried audiences might die of heart-attacks.
Creaky, stagebound, mostly tiresome, punctuated with a few grisly, if not startling sequences.

That’ll Be The Day - 1973 - UK

That’ll Be The Day - 1973 - 7/10

 
Late 1950’s, early 1960’s, Jim is aimless and angry.
School bores him and he finds petty jobs at a pub, then an amusement park.
A Lothario to the core, he disposes of females as quickly as he hooks them.
He treats his best friend shabbily, lets everyone around him down, escapes into music.
In short, he is extremely unlikable, and a 70’s version of the “angry young men.”
For all that, this is spectacular at recreating the look, feel and music of the era.
Costars include Ringo Starr, Keith Moon, Billy Fury.
View as a British Invasion roots story.

White Mischief - 1987 - UK

White Mischief - 1987 - 6/10

 
An aging tycoon and his trophy bride arrive in Kenya from England.
The stunning wife is fresh chum to hungry sharks.
Kenya in the 1940’s resembles Weimar Berlin.  Anything goes.
Drugs, gambling, wife swapping, extramarital affairs, the occasional murder.
Ah, there you go.
The debauchery angles are more entertaining, the decadent behavior to break the boredom.
Plus, it feels like the actors were enjoying themselves far more in that section.
The police business, the mystery element, saps the film.

Shooting For Socrates - 2014 - Ireland

Shooting For Socrates - 2014 - 6/10

 
Sheesh, how many football shows are there?  I don’t review half the ones I sit though.
This isn’t even Premiere League, which is what the girls follow.  This is World Cup.  1986.
Anyway, Northern Ireland somehow made it into the World Cup tournament back in 1986.
Up against the mighty Brazil.
The film contrasts the situation back in Northern Ireland during the time of the “troubles” and the Thatcher Government with the sport hopes.  Troubles are alluded to, rather than the confrontational display.
The film is about underdog Northern Ireland getting division play against Brazil, captained by their philosophical leader, the title named, Socrates.
Little training shown, and round play is more from the TV onlooker perspective.
Passable - though I’ve seen better - this is sorta feel-good, but more souvenir for aging fans.

A Tale Of Tragedy - 2022 - UK

A Tale Of Tragedy - 2022 - 6/10

 
An isolated coastal abbey is besieged by forces of darkness.
Prayer seems the nuns chief buttress.
Although their numbers seem to decline each day.
Irish horror short of corruption and betrayal.
This boasts a rich, enveloping sound mix.
Subs = https://subscene.com/subtitles/a-tale-of-tragedy/english/2868385

Woman In The Dunes - 1964 - Japan

Woman In The Dunes - 1964 - 7/10
AKA - Suna no Onna  //  砂の女

 
An insectologist, on vacation, lodges for the night with a village woman.
Her home lies at the bottom of a sand pit, which is constantly collapsing.
Next day, he frantically searches for an escape.
She is resigned to Fate, especially since villagers are aware and do nothing.
What follows is frustration, rage, tears, sexual release, desperation and the sheer pointlessness of existence.
Haunting photography throughout, although the pace is deadly slow, mirroring the ennui of the pair.
Definitely NOT the casual evening, popcorn flick.

The Nice Guys - 2016 - USA

The Nice Guys - 2016 - 6/10

 
Better than Inherent Vice, not as good as Boogie Nights, this detective mystery does a nice job evoking the shallow, at times over the top, 70's.
Gosling and Crowe laugh out loud funny as bickering duo who stagger into hitmen, cover ups, porn stars, and great parties.
Plot completely derivative of TV of the era - “Starsky & Hutch,” “Columbo,” “Streets Of San Francisco,” many more - take your pick.
Song choices were wrong, clothes and cars acceptable.
Angourie Rice, as Gosling’s daughter, is a gem, though her admittance to adult parties - never, ever, ever.
Lightweight.  Keep expectations down and you’ll enjoy more.

The Last Weynfeldt - 2010 - Switzerland

The Last Weynfeldt - 2010 - 6/10
AKA - Die Letzte Weynfeldt

Adrian, art connoisseur and advisor, finishes the suicide note, loads the derringer, points.
Then wait!  How about a last martini?
And at the bar, a female sidles up and makes conversation.
Audiences are immediately on guard, Adrian is not, and that rings false.

 
Because in the art scene, he would be accustomed to hustlers and frauds,
Execution is whimsical and the result seems a cheery mystery.

Gargoyles - 1972 - USA

Gargoyles - 1972 - 6/10

 
“Shucks no, this ain’t no hoax, this here is the genuine article, found up in them hills.”
A professor and his daughter view the odd skull inside a New Mexico tourist trap.
Corny spiel, fake skeleton, hoax for gullible turistas.  The site burning down soon afterward, coincidence.
Strange events increase, however, as do the legends.
Early TV movie suffers budget limitations in sets and photography.
Casting Cornell Wilde likely used up a big percentage of the funding.
Costumes and makeup (Stan Winston) are first class.
For all that, this remains a decent horror film, with an original spin on the ancient demons.

Après Vous - 2003 - France

Après Vous - 2003 - 6/10

 
Late night, taking a shortcut, a head waiter notices a suicide attempt.
He intervenes - rescues, if you will - and takes responsibility for the man.
Lesson 1) Don’t take shortcuts.  Lesson 2) Mind your own business.
The wannabe suicide is a hopeless mess.  No job, no place to live, no self esteem.
Crucially, his girlfriend recently dumped him.
Just like you or I, the waiter sets out to rebuild the guy’s life.
Cotton candy, French fluff.  Not too talky, but certainly strains believability.