Project Wolf Hunting - 2022 - S Korea

Project Wolf Hunting - 2022 - 6/10
AKA - Neukdaesanyang //  늑대사냥

Prisoner transfer from Philippines is anything but routine.
First off, using a cargo freighter?  Not vetting the staff?  Grasping that one container could contain weapons?
This section borrows from Under Siege and amplifies violence to 11.

 
There is, however, a clandestine government agency involved.
Not to mention something down in the hold.
Proceedings go haywire!  Live action version of slaughter game.
Creative imagination runs dry midway, action is set to excess, rerun, rerun, rerun.

Tunnel - 2021 - USA

Tunnel - 2021 - 5/10

 
The yawning opening beckons.
He takes a photo, prepares to leave, only to yield to curiosity.
Nice photography, uneasy concept of Möbius portal and rural horror.
Acting adequate, cop-out conclusion.

Mirror Images II - 1993 - USA

Mirror Images II - 1993 - 5/10

 
The occasional sequel that improves on the original, although this lacks the “star power” of the first.
Steamy starlet Shannon Whirry plays Carrie and Terri, twin sisters.  Good girl, bad girl.
Contrary to the normal world, goody-two-shoes marries the money.
Not to worry, sleazy husband advises her to fool around, while he bounces trashy sis.
After awhile the story makes no sense, and the sensual rollicking grows repetitive.
Glossy production values elevate this above most soft-core fodder.
Wildly popular during the erotic thriller heyday of the 90’s.

Dracula - 1979 - USA

Dracula - 1979 - 6/10

 
The roots are Stoker, yet this is based on the 1924 play, re-adapted for a 70’s Broadway run.
(I distinctly recall a Broadway TV commercial featuring “A Chorus Line” and “Dracula”.)
The count here accents the charm, the courtliness, as well as the sensual enjoyment of the female body.
Think Dracula cast as Bob Guccione.
Kate Nelligan, who I never fancied one way or another, is a fetching dish as Lucy
She and Langella spark terrific chemistry, as does he and Laurence Olivier.
I recall enjoyed this at the theater, especially the cinematography and rich colors.
The current version has been desaturated (much like the Coppola).
Please, give viewers all three:  bold color, desaturated, black and white.

Bonn: Alte Freunde, Neue Feinde - 2022 - Germany

Bonn: Alte Freunde, Neue Feinde - 2022 - 6/10

 
Elements for an excellent espionage thriller here.
Two government agencies contest in post-WWII Bonn.
One insists on bringing old Nazis to justice.
The other is concerned about Communism at their doorstep.
Spy-counterspy activities are a chess match of strategies.
Into the narrative, however, is Toni.  Idealistic 20 year old.
A Nancy Drew heroine, able to open safes, unearth secrets, even find a hidden sector!
Her amateur / super sleuth powers trivialize a potentially superior series.

The Song Of Lunch - 2010 - UK

The Song Of Lunch - 2010 - 7/10

 
He gazes at her wrist, so elegant and deft, with conjecture and speculation.
Has it truly been ten years?  Fifteen?  So little has changed.
Well, she is married, with two children.
While he remains a has-been poet, after she had married that successful fraud.
Two old flames meet for lunch.  Why, you wonder.
To rekindle?  Or to reaffirm?
Emma Thompson and Alan Rickman in pocket drama, although the latter carries most of the soured load.
Adapted from a poem, the dance of language in this is magical.

Amber - 2021 - United Arab Emirates

Amber - 2021 - 7/10

Jamal opens the barbershop.  One customer, full treatment.
Then he notices the client is on the newspaper headline.

 
Exceptionally taut thriller, wordless throughout.
Short suspenser barrels into survival and blood.
Perfect as a featurette before starting the main film.

Everyone Says I Love You - 1996 - USA

Everyone Says I Love You - 1996 - 7/10

 
People forget that there actually were musicals between 2016 and the final curtain in the early ‘60’s.
Au contraire, grasshopper.  The Woodster released this loving homage in the mid-90’s.
Plotwise, there are couples falling in love, arguing in love, and the running “I’m through with love”.
Musical numbers are Broadway standards.  Most of the cast does their own singing, and they are game.
Production numbers range from simple to elaborate.  Who expected to see singing ghosts?  
Clearly not for all tastes.  If you have a fondness for this genre, this movie is a romp.
And hooray for Captain Spaulding!

The Staircase - 2022 - USA

The Staircase - 2022 - 7/10

 
Michael and Kathleen, power couple, before she is found dead on the staircase.
Did she fall?  Was she attacked?  Was she murdered?
The first to find her, and suspect number one, is husband Michael.
Challenging mystery series shuffles chronology as much as the theories.
Mixing dead earnest point-of-view testimonies with deceptions and outright lies.
Few perfect couples are ever as ideal as they appear and this pair is a sticky pile.
Unbelievable cast include Colin Firth, Toni Collette, Juliette Binoche, Parker Posey …
Based on true events from North Carolina, though I would advise NOT researching first.