The Critic (1700) - 1982 - UK

The Critic (1700) - 1982 - 7/10

 
Goodness, hang with this one, folks.
Slow to catch fire Restoration comedy by Sheridan.
Sharp, if dated, satire on playwrights.
First section mocks a turgid craftsman, scribe of overlong, boring plays.
Still, once Mr. Puff arrives, fasten your belts.
He writes the crowd-pleasers.  The tentpoles of his day, akin to our absurd superheroes in pajamas.
Puff invites an investor and critic to a performance, and us along with them.
The finale piles numbers, effects, music, to astonishing, over-the-top effect!

Nightwalking - 2019 - Canada

Nightwalking - 2019 - 7/10

 
The office drone, living a hollow life, walks the city by night.
Commenting throughout on the emptiness of existence, with the oasis of color here and there.
He is a natural observer.  Faceless.  Almost invisible, thus tolerated, or ignored.

 
Midway, there is door, triggering curiosity and primal anxiety.
As with the dark itself, frightening yet tempting.
This has a good feel for what I often refer to as Past 2:00 AM.
For night owls, for the Cult of Ligotti, find this short.
Film = https://vimeo.com/504934006/ee093bec9d
Subs = https://www.mediafire.com/file/odqo6m4nplee4ez/Nightwalking-2019.srt/file

Io Island - 1977 - S Korea

Io Island - 1977 - 7/10
AKA - Iodo // 이어도

The steamship is ferrying capitalists and investors to Ieoda Island.
Fabled isle where drowned fisherman, claimed by the Water Demon, live in paradise.
The money-men plan to build a luxury hotel there, until one of the passengers disappears or is murdered.

 
Events and stories now migrate to nearby Chengu Island.
Fishermen and female divers.  The women desire men for children, then try to persuade them to move to the mainland before being killed by the Water Demon.
Chengu is an island of lust, jealousy, superstition.
The narrative is a baffling jumble of flashbacks and backstories.
Despite that, the film is mesmerizing and a rich showcase of early Korean cinema.

The Company Of Wolves - 1984 - UK

The Company Of Wolves - 1984 - 6/10

 
Although listed among Horror, this anthology holds fairy tales revolving around wolves.
Werewolves, Red Riding Hood, transformations.
One even includes the chance encounter with the Devil.

 
Interior sets predominate, although that seems in keeping with the fantasy element.
Angela Lansbury reliable as Granny, a classic ”wise woman”.
The real gem is 12 year old Sarah Patterson.  She is in almost every scene and is bewitching.
Early Neil Jordan work.

Confessions Of A Police Captain - 1971 - Italy

Confessions Of A Police Captain - 1971 - 7/10
AKA - Confessione di un commissario di polizia al procuratore della repubblica

Our cynical police captain is not crooked, but he is definitely bent.
Not above trying to arrange the murder of an untouchable crime lord.
Enter the newly appointed, idealistic District Attorney.

 
All he needs is evidence, and the Law will take care of the rest.
Martin Balsam is spot-on as the captain, and both he and Franco Nero work well together.
Very good Euro-Crime thriller, though for fans of this sub-genre this reinforces their worldview.

The Other Me - 2016 - Greece

The Other Me - 2016 - 7/10
AKA - Eteros Ego  // Έτερος εγώ

 
College criminology professor is asked to help with an investigation.
As one murder leads to another, a serial killer is revealed.
Except there is no killer, and no motive, save that all victims were corrupt.
Well plotted mystery with some chronological swings from time to time.
No scenes are arbitrary inserts, everything will piece together.
For fans of Pythagoras, the assassin leaves quotes at each scene of the crime.

Infiniti - 2022 - France

Infiniti - 2022 - 7/10

 
Superior SciFi / Mystery / Espionage, though not for the casual EFX seeker.
While a crash occurs at the orbiting ISS (International Space Station), the body of a cosmonaut is found in Kazakhstan.
Missing the head, torso covered in wax.  And, as we find out, this is the second body.
International series delves into science, parallel concepts, detective inquiry, cover-ups, Zoroastrianism.
Yes, you read correct, Zarathustra.
Souls needing this or that point, everything explained please, may be frustrated.
Multiple layers, mostly satisfying (I never bought the love angle), should satisfy hardcore SciFi fans.

 
Note: While this is mostly in English, I strongly advise getting full subs.  Characters speak in English, Russian, French, Kazakhstan.
Even when they speak in English, accents are pronounced.

Red - 2018 - UK

Red - 2018 - 7/10

 
Painter Mark Rothko takes on an assistant, an employee.
A new commission awaits:  a series of murals for the Four Seasons Restaurant inside the Seagram Building.
Rothko recollects gone contemporaries (Jackson Pollock), the functions of Art, the journey of an Artist.
His is Modern art, Abstract, and his resentment toward rising Pop Art is palpable.
Heady theatre, exploring numerous ideas.
Real tour de force by Alfred Molina, Alfred Enoch as earnest assistance is fine.

Stray Dog - 1949 - Japan

Stray Dog - 1949 - 7/10
AKA - Nora inu  //  野良犬

 
Rookie detective Murakami has his pocket picked.
Not his wallet, either, but his Colt pistol!
Police procedural evolves into a buddy film as Murakami is paired with the more seasoned Sato, who is less emotional, less sympathetic than the younger partner.
Set during a sweltering heatwave, through back alleys and seedy underbelly.
Prostitutes, petty thieves, starving children inhabit a Tokyo still reeling from World War II.

Men - 2022 - UK

Men - 2022 - 6/10

 
Harper, recovering from marital problems, breakup, trauma, holidays in the countryside.
Bucolic enough, and locals display rural friendliness, aloof reserve, or veiled contempt.
Do they actually?  Or is Harper interpreting?  After all, the men eerily resemble each other.
Wonderful film of haunting, is effectively “strange” most of the way.
Rory Kinnear superb in multi-faceted roles.  
Jessie Buckley no slouch, either, as widow who observes, “sees” if you like, disturbances in normality.
The conclusion is a collapse, sadly.  Typical of this writer who can construct stories, but cannot finish them.

The Killer Is Still Among Us - 1986 - Italy

The Killer Is Still Among Us - 1986 - 6/10
AKA - L'assassino è ancora tra noi

 
Half-assed Slasher film aspires.
An ugly killing of a “busy” couple in the woods.  Then another killing (using the same footage!).
Our young student, planning to be a criminal investigator, starts to suspect everyone around her.
Including her boyfriend – including her professor.
What to do?  Why, go to the Black Devil tavern, a hangout of the voyeur crowd.
Yes, blend in with peeping toms.
Deaths more cruel than imaginative.
By the fourth or fifth woodsy murder outside Roma, I wondered, “Don’t twenty year olds have apartments?”

The Children Of France During The War - 1918 - France

The Children Of France During The War - 1918 - 6/10
AKA - Les Enfants de France et de la Guerre

 
Worthwhile viewing for historic images.
Nevertheless, this serves as propaganda, showing the youngest citizens doing their bit during the Great War.
Farmwork, cheering, meeting Clemenceau, staging mock battles, donning gas masks.
Saddest part comes near the end.
Orphanages, filling to overflowing.
Not mentioned, French casualties were between 1-2 million.

Silent Running - 1972 - USA

Silent Running - 1972 - 6/10

 
SciFi fantasy in 1972, predicts all green life will be extinct on Earth.
Perhaps less far fetched nowadays.
Vast spaceships, greenhouses, nurture the last fauna maintained by small robots and humans of sundry dedication.
Underlying themes of homesickness and isolation contest with the mission zeal.
Bruce Dern very good in this, although he is already wacko stereotyped which undercuts the story.
State of the art effects by Trumbull have not dated much.

Shout - 1991 - USA

Shout - 1991 - 5/10

 
Texas reform school hires new music teacher (please?).
This being the 50’s, in redneck US of A, does he teach ’em gospel.
Nope, rhythm and blues, what, back then, was termed race music.
Proto-Elvis, bizarre romance (dirty dancing on either side of the prison fence).
Heather Graham survived this, as did Linda Fiorentino.
As for John Travolta, his many comebacks stem from signing on to stinkers like this.
Avoid.