Miss Barton's Famous Cakes - 2019 - USA

Miss Barton's Famous Cakes - 2019 - 6/10

 
Miss Barton makes prize-winning cakes.
So highly sought after, that two detectives arrive to warn her about two escaped convicts.
Both of whom are desperately hungry for her cake, and both, apparently, are impersonating detectives!
Wry humor predominates in exceptional looking short.

 
The black and white is pure Noir fused with high Gothic.
Atmospheric Noir score, as well, although the story itself is fluff.

Strange Confession - 1945 - USA

Strange Confession - 1945 - 6/10

 
Part of Universal’s “Inner Sanctum” series.  Viewers expected thrills or supernatural will be disappointed.
Stodgy drama, bordering on corn, finds brilliant chemist exploited by his boss, who soon takes a shine to his wife.
This feels like “product” and in many ways, it is.
The audio commentary, itself quite hit and miss, explains how Hollywood churned out films for the WWII home front.
With the war’s end, there would never be such strong casting for a B-film (Lon Chaney Jr, Lloyd Bridges, Brenda Joyce, J. Carroll Nash …).  Sets would be fewer and cheaper.  The commentary, when focused, serves the film.  
The print itself shows outstanding restoration, far beyond what one might expect for such a small vehicle.
J. Carroll Nash steals the movie.

The Head: S02 - 2022 - Spain

The Head: S02 - 2022 - 7/10

 
Despite the heavy death toll at Polaris VI, research continues.
After all, while humanity parties on, global warming escalates.
Arthur is determined as ever to find a solution and immortalize his name.
Just as Maggie is equally driven to destroy him.
The scene now shifts to a huge research freighter in the South Pacific.
An uneasy crew, more so after the initial death.
More characters this time out who I intensely disliked and kept hoping were next.
Drifting into formula now, yet this remains a taut thriller.

Judas Kiss - 1998 - USA

Judas Kiss - 1998 - 6/10

Heist film, yet from the onset, this defies expectations.
Security is distracted.

 
The heist is the kidnapping a of tech mogul, and runs slick with a small hiccup.
A bystander appears and needs to be liquidated.  Only the victim is a politician’s wife.
Feds are involved to the chagrin of the detective in charge, who did not want the case to begin with.

 
The narrative careens all over kingdom come, with flashbacks, twists, adult situations.
Diverting enough mystery set in New Orleans, although a real mystery is why two Brits play the two coppers.
Rickman, by the way, cannot drawl a Southern accent for the life of him.

Hell Hole - 2021 - USA

Hell Hole - 2021 - 6/10

Mason is not employee-of-the-month material.
Lazy, goof-off, shirker, lolling in this truck (Tonka?) instead of making his rounds.

 
Not surprisingly, his clumsiness causes an accident.  A calamitous one.
Comic horror short seems to be building toward something (a longer film?).
Ridiculous, creative use of miniatures.

Shattered - 1991 - USA

Shattered - 1991 - 6/10 

 
Dan emerges from the car crash a physical and mental mess.
Total amnesia.
Luckily, his wife is there to help him rebuild his memories.  Or is she?
Ditto his business partner wants to help.  Or does he?
Old fashioned thriller about the dangers of the truth.
Or the dangers of not knowing.
Stereotyped premise has been told better, although this is adequate for a Saturday night.

Design For Living - 1933 - USA

Design For Living - 1933 - 6/10

 
Titillating Pre-Code ménage à trois
Two men (best friends), one woman, who decide to live together platonically in Paris.
Funny film of manners, dialogue and situations.
Sly and naughty, yet never overt, which is probably why the Production Code passed it.
I suspect censors knew there was “something” about this that offended, but could not identify.
In ’34, the Code tightened and this was banned.
Sophisticated comedy, perhaps a bit starchy now.

The Getaway - 1972 - USA

The Getaway - 1972 - 7/10

 
Newly paroled con, Doc, is tasked with a bank heist.
In the background, corrupt politicians and calculating mob bosses.
As with most film heists, events swiftly go up in flames.
Hit and miss action film, worthwhile to see McQueen in prime form, blessed with Peckinpah’s red-blooded direction and a hard-nosed script by Walter Hill.
Plot and twists better than most action flicks.
Still, one watches this for McQueen and bullets.  12 gauge 00 shells.  Gun hounds will go crazy watching this.

Pension Metsä - 2021 - Japan

Pension Metsä - 2021 - 7/10
AKA - ペンション メッツァ

 
Gentle, soft-spoken series about the proprietress of a rural guest house.
Each episode (of six) sees one visitor arrive, talk about life, perhaps their past or a future, share a meal.
Discussions are contemplative, meditative, whimsical, philosophical.
If you desire action, emotional drama, or answers, this is not the place.
This is a quiet show, the house is something like a rest oasis
Those who peer deeper will grasp the passage of time, and how transitory is one’s journey.
Regulars at the Midnight Diner will feel at home.

Pride And Prejudice - 1980 - UK

Pride And Prejudice - 1980 - 8/10

 
This gem is often overlooked, eclipsed in popularity by the 2005 film and the superlative 1995 series.
Airing just before the 1980’s asserted its own identity, this 70ish production boasts great costumes and exteriors.
Most of the drama occurs in drawing rooms, libraries, dens, where the flat 1970’s look suffers.
The casting, however, is the strength of this, and it is impeccable.
Moray Watson and Priscilla Morgan as Mr and Mrs Bennett are marvelous, polar opposites.
Both Mary Bennett and Charlotte Lucas receive more due here than in any other version.
The leads, Elizabeth Garvie and David Rintoul, possess an electric chemistry.
Garvie makes a keen, witty, observant Eliza, barely keeping herself in check.
Rintoul’s Darcy is austere, aloof, ever alert.  Watching them fence is thrilling.
Excellent companion / contrast to the 1995, and perhaps the closest in spirit to Austen’s novel.