A Christmas Carol - 2020 - UK

A Christmas Carol - 2020 - 6/10

 
Yes, another version of the Dickens’ warhorse.
This “lockdown” performance hails from the Old Vic Theatre.
Photography for the socially distanced actors is imaginative.
Split screens, double exposures, shrewd lighting tricks.
Casting strives to be inclusive, which I have no problem with.
The three ghosts are female.  The cast represents modern London demographics, the attempt seems partial, you cannot please everyone.
Liberties have been taken with the text, the narrative, which will distress purists.
Miking ranges from acceptable to inaudible.
Disappointing, as this is apparently beloved, but I would suggest finding another rendition.

Shaolin Soccer - 2001 - Hong Kong

Shaolin Soccer - 2001 - 6/10
AKA - Siu Lam Juk Lau // 少林足球

 
One of Stephen Chow’s most successful and accessible films.
An ex-monk, wanting to bring Shaolin doctrines to the masses, decides soccer is the vehicle,
With five other monks and a ragtag team, they build victories.
Until they encounter Team Evil, reliant on performance drugs.
Fair play versus cheating.  Honor versus treachery.
Will good prevail?
Miramax, then owned by Disney, got the rights and poorly distributed this Stateside.
Or Disney planned to remake this with Western adolescents.  Who knows?
Terrific crowd pleaser and constantly funny.
Still banned in mainland China.

Miss You Already - 2015 - UK

Miss You Already - 2015 - 5/10

 
Drew and Toni on the cover, with the “miss you” title, I knew exactly how this would play, who was going to be the sufferer, and how events would transpire.
I was correct across the board.
Predictable tale of best friends forever, where one faces the ultimate battle.
Great chemistry between leads cannot compensate for oft repeated tale (reference to Beaches does not help).
Both women are too old for their roles, also.
Some of you will get stuck watching this beside your better half.  Too bad.

Bones Of Steel - 2020 - Japan

Bones Of Steel - 2020 - 6/10
AKA - Tetsu no hone  // 鉄の骨

 
Heita (right) works as site inspector for the construction firm.
His overzealousness gets him transferred to HQ Operations.
Abilities, idealism, or less obvious reasons.
The mid-sized company has trouble competing against the large groups.
Nevertheless, all outfits engage in illegal bid-rigging and collusion.
Legal and ethical concerns weigh against company loyalty and climbing the corporate ladder.
Sharp “business drama” is a mere five episodes, so easily watched.
If you develop a taste for this, check out the superb Hanzawa Naoki.

Persuasion - 1995 - UK

Persuasion - 1995 - 7/10

 
Concise adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel serves the passionate undercurrents.
Thwarted romantics Anne Eliot and Captain Wentworth are older in this version.
Good Society advised against their match years before, to their profound regret.
Years on, the flame still flickers, while “Society” still disapproves.
Wonderfully understated film of repressed emotions, family expectations.
This hews closest to the book.
Subsequent films deliver a steady increase of emotional outbursts by younger protagonists.
Janeites, this is the one.  Those insisting on dramatics, go later.

Kentucky Fried Movie - 1977 - USA

Kentucky Fried Movie - 1977 - 6/10

Series of unconnected comedy sketches, similar to the fledging Saturday Night Live but with more blatant sexuality.
The skits vary considerably, from hilarious to tasteless to dated and incomprehensible.
There are about 20 bits, ranging from seconds in length to longer.  Highlights include:
“Catholic High School Girls in Trouble” – parody of sexploitation romps, popular in the 70‘s.
“The Wonderful World of Sex” – the couple retire for romance, but first spin the how-to LP.
“Eyewitness News” – where the TV reporters can eyewitness participants on the couch.
The real gem is “A Fistful Of Yen”, a 30’ spoof of kung fu films, particularly Bruce Lee.

 
A sinister mastermind, his indomitable fortress, an army of thugs. And one smart-ass hero.
This film is where the Zucker team cut their teeth, paving the way for Airplane, Naked Gun, Scary Movie, etc …

Pumping Iron 2: The Women - 1985 - USA

Pumping Iron 2: The Women - 1985 - 6/10

 
Following the success of the first film (Arnold vs Lou Ferrigno), filmmakers eyed female bodybuilders.
Eventually honing in on the popular Rachel McLish against muscled-to-the-max Bev Francis.
Bev is cast as a naive innocent, akin to Lou Ferrigno.
McLish, who had won numerous competitions is shown in a darker light, akin to Ken Waller.
The doc is uncomfortably funny, as Bev Francis is clearly the most muscular, though not particularly feminine.
Event organizers wring their hands throughout, anticipating a negative crowd reaction.
More soap opera than documentary, with an infuriating ending.

Blood Relatives - 1978 - Canada

Blood Relatives - 1978 - 5/10
AKA - Les Liens de Sang

 
Somewhat overlooked Claude Chabrol potboiler of gruesome murder.
Cast is French, Canadian and English, setting is Montreal.
Female cousins, returning home from late night party, are assaulted, one murdered.
Detective (Donald Sutherland) starts investigating, focusing on family and coworkers.
Perhaps more sensational in its day, the narrative thuds, though sleazy sidetracks spice it up a bit.
Hairstyles and clothes are pure late 70's, though no other cultural references.
Chances are, early on alert viewers will guess the slasher’s identity.
Might even guess the motivation.
Dud.

Tár - 2022 - USA

Tár - 2022 - 7/10

 
Lydia Tár, premier “female” conductor of her time, prepares to conclude her Mahler cycle.
She leads the BPO (Berlin Philharmonic), teaches at Juilliard, composes, gives sold out speaking engagements.
Her home life is settled and secure.  Rival conductors seek her counsel.
Bright days ahead, yes?
A young protégé has committed suicide.  Tár wants to replace an aging, beloved assistant conductor.
Then there is the young cellist, ripe with youth.
Deep character study of an artist not quite recognizing how turbulent are the waters they have stirred,
Early sections may remind one of Clouds Of Sils Maria, later of Blue Jasmine.
Make no mistake, this is arthouse.  Steeped in classical music.
Dropped names include Bernstein, von Karajan, Furtwängler, Dutoit, Levine.  Even a sly comment about Gould.
Performances include the Mahler 5, Elgar’s Cello Concerto, Bach.
Exceptional performance by Cate Blanchett in an engrossing, if overlong film.

Camping - 2016 - UK

Camping - 2016 - 6/10

 
Weekend campout / birthday celebration in the cabins, close by a beach.
The mild-mannered man and his overbearing wife.
Our caretaker, who could be janitor at Camp Crystal Lake.
Enter the late arrivals, the recently separated man and his eager beaver girlfriend.
Add alcohol, old resentments, jealousy, rampant sexual antics.
Wildly incorrect Julia Davis series boasts drug use, nudity, unappealing ruttings.
If you have a taste for Julia Davis’s work, this is laugh out loud funny.
Beware the sanitized USA remake.

Emma - 1996 - UK

Emma - 1996 - 8/10

 
Emma Woodhouse, matchmaker in the worst manner, repeatedly fails to connect her targets.
At the same time, fumbling her own romantic affairs.
Of all the Jane Austen novels, this is one of the funniest.
Cast is picture perfect (even silver spoon Paltrow is great).
First rate across the board:  costumes, settings, period music, lush photography.
For guys worrying, this is not Hallmark kryptonite, though still a romantic comedy.

Danny Deckchair - 2003 - UK

Danny Deckchair - 2003 - 6/10

 
Danny, construction worker, is bored with his lot,
Worse, his girlfriend is unresponsive.
What to do?  How about string helium balloons to your lawnchair and up, up and away!
Adventures, national acclaim, a MYSTERY, then a new girlfriend!
Reinventing Oneself 101.
Silly, harmless romantic fluff, based, astoundingly enough on a real-life, and far more compelling, story.
https://darwinawards.com/stupid/stupid1998-11.html
https://www.cartalk.com/radio/letter/lawnchair-pilot-larry-walters-0

Shaun The Sheep Movie - 2015 - UK

Shaun The Sheep Movie - 2015 - 7/10

 
I’ll try to be careful here.  Shaun is perhaps best viewed as still a juvenile.
The farm has become routine.  Tedious and predictable.
When Shaun spies the banner on a passing bus, “Take A Day Off!” he devises a scheme.
And, as with so many plans concocted by man and livestock alike, events swiftly go awry.
Shaun, fellow flock friends, and loyal dog Bitzer, accidentally unleash havoc.
While the party-popping pigs drag  the house into a breezy bachelor pad, the others skedaddle to Big City.
Danger and disaster darken their path, yet persevere they must, for family must be rescued.
An inventive claymation romp, with barely any dialogue, this is one of those gems parents can safely share with young children.  Studded with jokes and gags, with an irresistibly catchy theme song, “Feels Like Summer.“

Affair In Trinidad - 1952 - USA

Affair In Trinidad - 1952 - 6/10

 
Chris’s husband commits suicide.
Or did he?  Police smell murder.
As luck would have it, her brother-in-law appears and starts poking his nose about.
Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford reteam, and once again he plays a snarling jealous moron.
Meanwhile, there are suspicious European ex-pats runs by a calculating smoothie (Alexander Scourby).
Plot is muddy because of rival mysteries, both poorly delineated.
Hayworth does two numbers.  First one is over the top and silly.  The second is gold.
Don’t think about Gilda when you watch this mediocre potboiler.

Sea Of Love - 1989 - USA

Sea Of Love - 1989 - 6/10

 
Alcoholic cop, burned out at work, despondent after his wife left him.
Latches onto a downtown murder, which soon escalates into more.
Yeah, serial killer.  Male victims, notes written in lipstick.  Probably an angry female.
Solid thriller / Neo Noir appears to be the template for later Basic Instinct.
Pacino and Ellen Barkin display a torrid chemistry, and the mystery angles are good, too.

The Case Of The Bloody Iris - 1972 - Italy

The Case Of The Bloody Iris - 1972 - 6/10
AKA - Perché quelle strane gocce di sangue sul corpo di Jennifer?

 
The elevator is crowded, until it’s not.  And by that time, the gloves are on and the blade flashes.
She was blonde, heading towards an assignation when … well … victim #1.
Brisk moving Giallo is packed with nudity, occasional sex, and loads of suspects.
Confusing?  Sure, they all are.  Who cares!
A mouth watering Edwige Fenech headlines a parade of stunning females.
None have real jobs.  Dancing, nude modeling, wrestling, or interviews.
Highly entertaining plot gallops at a heady pace.
Fashionistas?  Edwige has a glamorous, seemingly bottomless wardrobe.

Anything Else - 2003 - USA

Anything Else - 2003 - 6/10

 
Jerry is not one for change, moving on.  He still has a do-nothing manager, and a girlfriend to whom he cannot commit.
Not that he’s lazy, the rut is simply familiar, comfortable.
Then he meets Amanda.  Freewheeling, dismissive, predatory.
Attraction leads Jerry into countless errors.
While a comedy, this hews closer to a relationship drama masquerading as comedy.
Coming off a handful of Allen films that I did not care for, this is memorable, especially with a young cast.
Allen as the loose cannon mentor, and Christina Ricci as sexpot Amanda, come off best.
Jason Biggs, playing a younger version of Allen, is overshadowed.
While this may be uncomfortable to some, this is where Allen got a second wind and began a good run.