Scenes From A Mall - 1991 - USA

Scenes From A Mall - 1991 - 5/10

 
Fans knew this wasn’t a “Woody” film.  Knew it suffered scathing reviews.
Nevertheless, we viewed.
Woody Allen and Bette Midler play a happily married couple whose marriage has hit a crisis.
Allen and Midler show great chemistry, yet their characters are extremely dislikeable.
They bicker, squabble and lash out.  Inside the mall, at a time when malls had become less popular.
The movie feels improvised, or poorly edited.
Mazursky attempting Altman, without the latter’s touch.

Wonderland - 2003 - USA

Wonderland - 2003 - 6/10

 
Ugly, flip side to Boogie Nights, this one based on real events.
Porn stud John Holmes, career in the trash can, is suspect #1 in the death of four.
Low on cash, fried out brain cells, Holmes and drug buddies decide to rob a mobster.
Afterward, police try to untangle conflicting versions of events.
Repellent tale is grisly and frustrating, not leastways because of so many loathsome players.
The tone, the vibe, however, seems spot on, spitting the filthy payment due that came at the end of the 70’s.
Val Kilmer nails John Holmes, yet the whole cast is solid.
Gloriously slimy escapade, not a prissy docudrama.

Fascination - 1979 - France

Fascination - 1979 - 6/10

 
After a gold heist, Marc hides in an “empty” chateau.
Well, there are two maidservants who seem to be involved with each other, and interested in him.
He dallies, unaware that the chateau belongs to a countess, a vampire, who will soon arrive.
Stylized Jean Rollin film has a meandering plot drifting though a dreamlike setting.
While slow, especially by today’s standards, almost every scene is visually arresting.
Gothic, lesbian vampires, beautiful fashions, nudity, moody score, creeping dread.
Good intro to Rollin for the curious.

Woman In The Moon - 1929 - Germany

Woman In The Moon - 1929 - 7/10
AKA - Frau im Mond

 
Pioneering SciFi about travel to the Moon for, what else, riches!
Professor Manfeldt proposes there is gold on the dark side.
Venture capitalists sign on, and the spaceship is created.
Although about “space travel”, greed predominates.  And some romance.
I have seen this twice live with a pianist.  A new Kino release has an excellent score.
At 3+ hours in length, you should settle in for a long experience.
Very spotty “science” in this, yet much of the “rocket” depictions would echo in the later V2.

Henry V - 1944 - UK

Henry V - 1944 - 7/10

 
Rousing, old-fashioned spectacle serves as epic achievement and morale booster (during WWII).
The young king, still regarded as a wastrel, finds tensions with France near breaking point.
Solution?  Invade and conquer, despite having smaller forces.
The Technicolor is, at once, dazzling and distracting.  The colors are beyond belief.
The battle sequences are outstanding.  Transitions between the Globe and locations are inspired.
For all that, the film is – not stilted – pretty.  Shiny.
Olivier is masterful, although you always know this is Sir Laurence.

Swimming To Cambodia - 1987 - USA

Swimming To Cambodia - 1987 - 7/10   

 
Spalding Gray, raconteur, delivers a monologue on Southeast Asia.
Particularly, Cambodia and the rise of the Khmer Rouge and subsequent genocide.
Weaving in and out are comments of The Killing Fields in which he had a small part.
The performance runs funny to terrifying, remaining desperately human.
Riveting theatre, beware of cut versions.

Infernal Affairs - 2002 - Hong Kong

Infernal Affairs - 2002 - 7/10
AKA - Mou gaan dou  // 無間道

 
Triad member Lau enrolls in the police academy, rises through the ranks, yet is criminal to the core.
Chan is expelled from the police academy, then joins the Triads (though he is actually undercover).
Sound somewhat familiar?  Yes, Scorsese remade this in 2006 as The Departed.
(The remake is exceptional, and Scorsese, unlike most copycats, graciously credited the HK version.)
While similar to the remake, Infernal Affairs is a considerably darker experience.
For one thing, this is steeped in the ramifications of the 1997 handover to China.
The promise of “One country, two systems” swirls through the film.
Spawned a terrific prequel, then a so-so sequel.  View the first two.

Julie - 2018 - UK

Julie - 2018 - 6/10

 
Julie’s big birthday bash and everyone is there!
Well, not Daddy.  Plus, the majority of the revelers are moochers who mock her.
Julie is insecure, graceless, a sponger herself and ugly to her two friends.
In a nutshell, she is a resentful, privileged 7 year old in a 33 year old body.
Left-handed adaptation of Strindberg’s “Miss Julie” is well cast and has its moments.
Julie is a toxic soul, however, and her complaints and comments come across as whiny bleating.
She is inappropriate throughout, wallowing in her pity party.

The House With Laughing Windows - 1976 - Italy

The House With Laughing Windows - 1976 - 7/10
AKA - La Casa Dalle Finestre che Ridono

 
Stefano arrives at the tiny village by boat.
Hired to restore a fresco of the assassination of Saint Sebastian.  A gruesome depiction.
He settles in quickly, manages to sleep with a few ladies, and the restoration proceeds.
Nevertheless, he receives warnings about the fresco, the village.  That he should depart.
The isolation builds throughout, as Stefano is shunned, and village, forest, even his own rooms seem empty.
While this lacks the stylistic flourishes of Giallo, the atmosphere and tone is overwhelming.
Not really Horror, but a thriller that delivers and a mystery that exemplifies “be careful what you ask for”.

Tschugger: S01-02 - 2021 - Switzerland

Tschugger: S01-02 - 2021 - 7/10

 
Detective Bax is having a bad run.
Wife Gerda has dumped him, he is currently trailing two low-level stoners.
Worse, he has made a poor impression on a visiting HQ investigator.
Let’s not go into his unprofessional attire, which matches his boorish social skills.
You may assume things can’t get worse.
Oh, yes, they can!
Extremely funny satire on cop shows and buddy flicks.
Two five-part seasons, half hour each, with a hair raising finale.

What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice? - 1969 - USA

What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice? - 1969 - 6/10

 
Aunt Alice?  Oh, she called herself Mrs. Dimmock and hired on as companion to Mrs. Marrable.
How many companions has Mrs. Marrable gone through already?  Four?  Five?
Good help is so hard to find.  Funny how they all left in the middle of the night.
Of course they had no relatives, poor dears.  No friends.  Nobody missed them.
And Mrs. Marrable (above)?  Despite her airs, she is poor.  And rather mad.
Desert mystery shines a mean edge and cruel tone.
Odd how the general populace is so easily deceived by surface charm and platitudes.

The Protégé - 2021 - UK

The Protégé - 2021 - 6/10

 
Moody and Anna are a hit team.  Assassins.  Except they only murder bad people.
Please.  Really?
After a death – payback – Anna targets the top man responsible, and his cartel of henchmen.
Samuel Jackson as Moody is fine, the action sequences are crisp and well done.
Dialogue is a treat, especially between Maggie Q and Michael Keaton.
Keaton, by the way, has a marvelous role as the sardonic right hand.
The narrative, the script itself, is an empty-headed muddle.
There is no “there” to the last two acts.  No reasons, no denouement.