Jack Ripper: The Definitive Story - 2011 - UK

Jack Ripper: The Definitive Story - 2011 - 6/10

 
Another Whitechapel documentary, only this one relies on facts and chronology rather than theories.
This proceeds from the earliest surmised murders to a handful following 1888.
Inspired visuals transform a modern street.  Replacing halogen with gaslight, narrowing the streets, restoring the warehouses and tenements and pubs.
Those mix with historians explaining the times, as well as the killings, hour by hour, witnesses and press.
For those who have never been on one of those Ripper Walks, Whitechapel of today is a sterile environment.
Decent doc.  I don’t watch many on the Ripper so I have no comparison.

SS-GB - 2017 - UK

SS-GB - 2017 - 7/10

Imaginative series presupposes the Nazi-Soviet Pact of 1939 was not broken.
The Wehrmacht sweeps through Europe, and the Luftwaffe overwhelms the RAF.
As the German Army occupies Britain, waiting to take control stands the SS.
After the Resistance murders an inconsequential black market dealer, Scotland Yard investigates.

 
The pacing is steady, a handful of threads coiling around the mystery.
Production detail is an overripe blend of tainted grandeur and full Noir.

 
For those who gave up on The Man In The High Castle series, this ought to be easier.
Five episodes, a constant narrative thrust, and a few good misdirects.
The Scotland Yard inspector strikes me more as an SD operative, perhaps by design.
While the finale is a trifle open-ended, this should satisfy most.

Ghost In The Shell: The Movie - 2015 - Japan

Ghost In The Shell: The Movie - 2015 - 6/10

 
Bit misleading title, “the movie” which the unwary might see as the ScarJo vehicle.
This falls after the “Arise” series and leads into the 1995 classic.
Major Kusanagi, Batou, most the of the squad embroiled with terror plots, assassinations, cyber-virus.
Always with this series, a fair amount of talking and philosophizing about the collective datastream.
Visuals are great, if now perhaps a little familiar.
The plot bounds along, often shifting scenes and gears abruptly.
Enjoyable, though choppy.
Not the best entry for newcomers.  Best to start with the '95 original.

Cousin Bette - 1998 - UK

Cousin Bette - 1998 - 6/10

 
After her wealthy and connected sister dies, Bette hopes her in-laws will assist her.
Bette is a seamstress for the ever-disreputable theatre world, and money is precious.
As Bette befriends a talented, yet starving, sculptor, her greedy in-laws ignore her.
More betrayals, until Bette decides misery loves company.
Very black comedy here, of calculated retribution.
Bette, a methodical and callous antagonist, selects useful weapons to crush perceived enemies.
Feel-good seekers, move along.  Those who prefer revenge cold, enjoy a bitter dish.

It Happened On Fifth Avenue - 1947 - USA

It Happened On Fifth Avenue - 1947 - 6/10

 
Above, Aloysius T. McKeever and loyal companion, resident of the O’Connor mansion on Fifth Avenue.
He is, what one might term, chronically unemployed, and a squatter.
The homeowner’s habits are known to him;  a day after O’Connor heads South, McKeever enters.
This season, add a homeless ex-GI.  Followed by a pair of buddies.  With wives and children.
Plus, the rich owner’s daughter, who declines to appraise the others who she is.
Old fashioned romantic comedy is schmaltzy and overlong, borrowing a trope from My Man Godfrey.
The plight of unemployed servicemen also rings a chord, which fueled many a Noir.
While wishful sorts declare this a forgotten Christmas gem, it really isn’t.

Olga’s House Of Shame - 1964 - USA

Olga’s House Of Shame - 1964 - 5/10

 
Johnny Gordon brings in fresh meat for Olga’s organization.
Narcotics, prostitution, and now, jewel smuggling.
Hard the believe the empress of criminality is holed up in the backwoods in an abandoned mine or tipple.
The girls, hookers, chiselers, hustlers, are petty rebels, and Olga is a harsh mistress.
Brace for beatings, cheap tortures, and girls stripped to their garters and girdle
Grade D exploitation gets classy with classical scores (Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov).
Extensive voiceover narration holds this together, and it feels shots were cobbled together with duct tape.
Bad cinema fans, this is pretty slow.  Like you care.

Subtitles = https://subscene.com/subtitles/olgas-house-of-shame/english/2965511

Hole - 1998 - Taiwan

Hole - 1998 - 6/10
AKA - Dong  //  洞

The infection has turned into an epidemic.
Whole neighborhoods are quarantined, then residents are ordered to leave.
Meanwhile, it rains, and it rains, and it rains.
The humidity overpowers, leaks develop, trickling from one floor to the next.
In this case, opening an ever widening hole.
Where upstairs and downstairs tenants begin looking at each other, wondering,
Much of the film is the banal existence in an emptying apartment building.

 
Highlights are musical interludes performed by Grace Chung.
Daydreams?  Fantasies?  Nothing is explained.

Galaxy Quest - 1999 - USA

Galaxy Quest - 1999 - 7/10

 
“Never retreat, never surrender.”
Loving homage to interstellar TV, especially Star Trek.
Series canceled, careers stalled, ex-cast members earn a living on the convention circuit.
Until they are space-napped by the last surviving Thermians, driven to extinction by the dread Sarris.
What ensues is a gentle parody, and sheer comedy.
A fellow reviewer had attended an advance pre-screening and reported a lost edit.
Tony Shaloub’s Tech Sergeant Chen clearly huffing a small pipe, which informs his stoner behavior throughout.

Colossus: The Forbin Project - 1970 - USA

Colossus: The Forbin Project - 1970 - 6/10

 
Another early warning about Artificial Intelligence granted too much clout.
Like Skynet, Colossus is a defense project, and again, smarter than its handlers.
Unlike HAL 9000, controlling a vessel, Colossus has the complete defense apparatus.
Of the States and the Soviets.  It also has implacable logic, deeming war illogical.
Move – countermove between humanity and circuitry form the  main conflict.
Dated (this feels like TV), though still relevant, especially if you have ever argued with your computer.

Wit - 2001 - USA

Wit - 2001 - 8/10

 
Professor Bearing, dying from terminal cancer, agrees to experimental treatment.
She is upbeat and pragmatic, all the while knowing her days dwindle.
Based on a play, it feels that way, though Emma Thompson pulls us into the humanity.
And this is a powerful journey of Life, end of life, contesting with the Reaper.
Thompson is grand, and Christopher Lloyd handles the steely, emotionless face of medicine.
What is never mentioned is the payment, especially after Prof. Bearing’s insurance taps out.
In the States, hospital sharks would seize her property to pay bills, then sell her eyes.

The Player - 1992 - USA

The Player - 1992 - 7/10

 
Late era Altman, whom I had given up on, provides an excellent thriller / mystery.
And scathingly funny, to boot!
Hotshot young producer (pattered after a wannabee Robert Evans?), blows off one too many writers.
Yeah, yeah, writers, they are all God’s gift.  After all, their mothers told them so.
Thing is, who is the malcontent scribe?  There are so many with a bitter grudge!
For films buffs, especially classic Hollywood, this is packed with jokes, gossip, scandals.
More thoughtful souls, the current era of Hollywood that Altman satirizes acts as a metaphor for America writ large.
One to view numerous times.  Indispensable for film hounds.

Company - 2002 - India

Company - 2002 - 7/10

 
One of the few Bollywood films I can unreservedly recommend.
Consider this:  Instead of a dozen silly, romantic musical numbers, there is only one.  Period.
A gangster film, low level Chandu works for boss Malik in the Mumbai underworld.
Turf battles, revenge killings, political intrigue, obsessive police, this has it all.
As the men and their crew liquidate rivals, their gang is simply called Company.
Three hour film sweeps from India to Kenya to Hong Kong.
For Hong Kong fanboys, longing for 1990’s actioners, this is a freight train roaring down the pass.

God Of Gamblers - 1989 - Hong Kong

God Of Gamblers - 1989 - 6/10
Dǔshén  //  賭神

 
Master gambler Ko (Chow Yun-Fat) is seemingly invincible, whatever the game or stakes.
While playing to help a friend clear debts, he suffers a head injury.
Ko now has the insufferable personality of a two year old.
Will he recover?  And in time for a big showdown?
Yes, yes, any fool can predict this.
Exciting first third, strong finish, but my God, that “childish” midsection is a misery.